South-South in Action South-South and Triangular Cooperation on Peace and Development
South-South in Action South-South and Triangular Cooperation on Peace and Development Table of Contents
03 Executive Summary 04 Acknowledgements 07 Foreword 08 Abbreviations
09 Chapter I: South-South cooperation as a catalyst of peace and inclusive development 19 Chapter II: South-South and triangular cooperation experiences to promote peace and development Section 1: Experiences oriented towards 22 preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflict Section 2: Experiences oriented towards 38 preventing the continuation of conflict Section 3: Experiences oriented towards 46 preventing the recurrence of conflict
69 Chapter III: From promise to action
73 Annex
Executive Summary
At the start of 2019, the world entered its fourth Chapter 1 will introduce policy frameworks year of collective action toward achieving the consisting of multilateral agreements, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The resolutions and declarations relevant to global vision laid out in the 2030 Agenda placed the emerging field of “South-South and peace, prosperity and partnership at the heart triangular cooperation on peace and of its mission. At this crucial time, the United development”. Chapter 2 comprises 21 Nations Office for South-South Cooperation case studies of Southern collaboration for (UNOSSC) is delighted to present this peace and development, all outstanding publication: “South-South in Action on Peace and impactful initiatives oriented towards and Development”, which highlights the depth preventing the outbreak, escalation, and breadth of South-South and triangular continuation and recurrence of conflict cooperation experiences in promoting peace in the Global South. Chapter 3 will offer and inclusive development. insight into the way forward for converting promise into action through expanded Through the selection of 21 case studies, this partnerships, visibility and lessons learned publication will showcase diverse South- in the field of South-South cooperation for South and triangular cooperation initiatives peace and development. promoting durable peace and inclusive development. SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Acknowledgements
UNOSSC would like to acknowledge the outstanding of the Global South Thinkers on Peace and contribution of all parties involved in compiling this Development group, Meryem Aslan (Oxfam publication. Turkey) and Amanda Lucey (Oxfam South Africa). We share special thanks to Patrice Chiwota, We extend our sincere gratitude to Cecilia Milesi, Senior Programme Adviser at the United Nations UNOSSC Senior Adviser on South-South Cooperation Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), who kindly on Peace and Development and Marina Caixeta, shared his insights and comments concerning the South-South Cooperation expert consultant. As UN Sustaining Peace agenda and important UN a research team, they supported UNOSSC and resolutions pertinent to this publication. partners in collecting South-South cooperation case studies, undertaking a dedicated and meticulous Finally, the most important recognition is to exercise in coordination with several teams working UNOSSC partners who proactively worked with around the world. Marina Bolfarine Caixeta, South- Marina Caixeta and Cecilia Milesi, to devise the South Cooperation expert consultant, who has final case studies included in this publication. They supported UNOSSC and our partners in collecting engaged with passion and commitment, providing South-South cooperation case studies, undertook a extra data and supporting the research team in the dedicated and meticulous exercise in coordination process of final revision and approval of all the with several teams working around the world. We important material included in Chapter 2. would also like to thank UNOSSC colleagues who The partners who accepted UNOSSC invitation supported the overall process. Without them this to be part of this “South-South in Action on would have been an impossible task: we extend our Peace and Development” are listed below. We special thanks to Michael Stewart, former UNOSSC recognise that they work with many national and knowledge consultant, who contributed important regional partners, including national authorities, ideas in the inception phase of this report; Lauren regional organizations, other key stakeholders and Hess, UNOSSC intern, who provided inspiration communities with the aim to promote durable and support in the initial phases of UNOSSC efforts peace and inclusive development. We extend our to support South-South Cooperation on Peace admiration and respect to everyone directly and and Development; Charlotte Weekly, UNOSSC indirectly involved in the delivery of the projects intern, who helped undertake the final review of and programmes presented in this “South-South this publication and all those colleagues involved in Action on Peace and Development”. We hope in supporting procurement, editing, design and that this publication creates more opportunities printing of this publication. for them to continue succeeding in their daily work despite the multitude of challenges they face. Further, we want to express our special appreciation to the peer-reviewers of Chapter 1: the members
4 Partners1 to this publication
Argentina - FO.AR & the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF)
FO.AR The General Directorate of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (DGCIN) coordinates the Technical Cooperation of Argentina with countries, regional platforms and international organizations all around the world, formulates strategies of cooperation, participates of the respective negotiations, and carries out the follow-up and evaluation of bilateral, triangular and regional projects. The Directorate is also responsible for promoting cooperation with regional commissions and multilateral agencies of the United Nations System, participating in the development of technical cooperation projects and activities with its subsidiary bodies, agencies and organizations. In order to and implement international cooperation initiatives, Argentina created the Argentine Fund International Cooperation (FO.AR). Throughout its 27 years of existence, the Fund has enabled the development and implementation of over 10.800 international technical cooperation initiatives and projects –bilateral and triangular-, through which our country’s government experts and those of our partners work together to exchange, adapt and implement public policies that favour inclusive development, democratic governance, scientific and technical progress, and respect for human rights.
The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, EAAF) s a non-governmental, not-for-profit, scientific organization that applies forensic sciences - mainly forensic anthropology and archaeology - to the investigation of human rights violations in Argentina and worldwide.
Croatia – Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia has a National Strategy for Development Cooperation 2017–2021, which includes South-South and triangular cooperation as an indispensable tool for jointly achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mexico - AMEXID The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) acts upon the Law on International Development Cooperation, passed in 2011. It is a decentralized body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico in charge of coordinating, implementing and evaluating activities related to both incoming and outgoing cooperation. AMEXCID works with specialists and builds strategic partnerships with multi-stakeholder development actors to coordinate Mexico’s cooperation efforts in order to reduce inequality, strengthen institutions, enhance the quality of life, and, therefore, contribute to sustainable human development. AMEXCID shares best practices, knowledge, and expertise to strengthen capabilities in developing countries, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean. It also works with key partners to enhance Mexican capabilities, improve institutional frameworks, and generate tangible results for national development.
1 For this publication, we considered “partners” as those organizations, government departments and UN agencies which accepted UNOSSC invitation to be part of this endeavour and, since then, facilitated the process to organize and collect information included in all case studies together with UNOSSC team. As mentioned in Chapter 1 and the Annex, they are partners of previously published UNOSSC publications. A relevant designated person working for each partner organization reviewed and signed-off the final drafts of the case studies. We acknowledge that these partners worked in coordination, consultation and partnership with several offices and other key stakeholders. The full list of organizations involved in each project/ programme delivery is included at the bottom of each case study, along with direct contact details. SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
g7+ The g7+ is an intergovernmental association of countries affected by conflict and fragility, which have come together to support each other in the transition to resilience and the next stages of development; there are 20 Member States from diverse regions, cultures, traditions and historical contexts in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Turkic Council The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization, with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States. Its four founding member states are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Turkic Council is an organization dedicated to strengthening peace and stability, promoting wide-ranging cooperation and disclosing the potential for common development among its member states. By promoting deeper relations and solidarity amongst Turkic speaking countries, it aims to serve as a new regional instrument for advancing international cooperation in Eurasian continent, particularly in Central Asia and Caucasus.
IOM Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 172 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
UNDP UNDP works to fit the needs of countries and communities on their development challenges; it works to eradicate poverty in all forms and dimensions, accelerate structural transformations and to build resilience to shocks and crisis.
UNFPA "The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) was established in 2009 as an Ensuring rights and choices for all since 1969 intergovernmental organization, with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic Speaking States. Its four founding member states are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Turkic Council is an organization dedicated to strengthening peace and stability, promoting wide-ranging Assurer les droits et les choix pour tous depuis 1969 cooperation and disclosing the potential for common development among its member states. By promoting deeper relations and solidarity amongst Turkic speaking countries, it aims to serve as a new regional instrument for advancing international cooperation in Eurasian continent, particularly in Central Asia and Caucasus
Ensuring rights and choices for all since 1969
UNESCO
Ensuring rights and choices for all since 1969 UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
6 Foreword
South-South cooperation is contributing to preventing conflict and sustaining peace. The 21 case studies presented in this thematic publication are tangible examples of how Southern collaboration for peace and inclusive development is more than just a promise. Multiple southern-led and demand-driven initiatives are adding value to the efforts to realize the global vision offered by the 2030 Agenda and the Sustaining Peace Agenda. The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) is committed to contributing to these efforts by supporting horizontal opportunities for mutual learning, involving the great diversity of actors striving to create a world of dignity, peace and freedom for all. Despite multiple challenges, many countries in the South are creating innovative initiatives to build peace and address the root causes of conflict. As many Global South countries Jorge Chediek experience similar challenges, they are better positioned to Envoy of the Secretary-General share and support the adaptation of effective alternatives for on South-South Cooperation peace and development. Southern solidarity is a pathway to and Director, United Nations Office share options based on mutual respect and empathy. for South-South Cooperation South-South and triangular cooperation are in a process of constant adaptation to respond to the needs and complex demands arising in an interconnected and multipolar world. This publication provides insights and lessons from practice on how multi-stakeholder partnerships are vital to promote conflict prevention. We hope it provides inspiration, nurturing the emerging field of Southern partnerships for peace and development. The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation stands ready to facilitate and support more and better knowledge sharing for peace and development. I especially thank all our partners and the team who worked so efficiently to showcase all these South-South case studies with all of you. Abbreviations and Acronyms
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa G77 Group of 77 GIZ German Society for International Cooperation IOM International Organization for Migration NGO Non-governmental organization OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs P&D Peace and Development SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SSiA South-South in Action UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNOSSC United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation South-South cooperation as a catalyst Chapter I of peace and inclusive development SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
South- South and triangular cooperation is now Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) recognized as a driving force and enabler of a aims to raise the profile of these efforts, creating world of peace, equality and dignity for all. Once opportunities in both on-line and off-line passive recipients of assistance and support, today spaces that will serve as catalysts for increased Global South actors are proactively and more dialogue and equal partnerships for peace and confidently offering their knowledge, resources development. and perspectives to shape the multilateral agenda for peace and inclusive development. South- This publication aims, succinctly, to present South cooperation on peace and development is policy frameworks consisting of a number an emerging area of Southern-led collaboration of multilateral agreements, resolutions and with the potential to build on the successes and declarations2 -with the hope of raising awareness lessons learned over decades of history of South- and enhancing the perception of the United South cooperation mainly dedicated to other Nations, Member States, intergovernmental areas ranging from economic, social and technical organizations and civil society actors in their collaboration1. current efforts to establish more integrated and context-specific South-South initiatives oriented With the aim of creating contexts free from fear, towards sustaining peace. instability and violence, several Global South countries and people directly affected by conflict and At the same time, and to link policy and practice, humanitarian crises, in coordination with regional this publication showcases existing experiences and subregional organizations, United Nations (UN) of South-South cooperation on peace and agencies, intergovernmental organizations, think development. The 21 case studies are intended tanks and civil society organizations, are innovating to highlight impacts, lessons learned, and the and taking risks to collaborate, learn from each implementing partners’ own narratives on how other and explore alternatives for durable peace each concrete initiative has increased durable and inclusive development. peace and development. The cases studies were harvested from the publications, “South-South The UN System and its agencies are more in Action” and “Good Practices Volume I and II”, committed to facilitating and promoting South- both flagship UNOSSC knowledge products co- South cooperation, identifying ways in which the produced with UNOSSC partners from around experiences of Southern actors can be leveraged the world3. to create more effective and transformative pathways to peace. They also recognized past flaws, when working for peace was, sometimes, 2 We recognize that policy guidance also derives from many other important frameworks and agreements to the detriment of legitimate solutions relevant such as the 2063 Agenda, the outcomes documents derived to the local context, regional organizations and from Heads of States Summits of the Ibero-American States, actors. As part of the UN family, the United Nations the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and many others. In this section, and considering the brevity of space, we focus on policy more directly linked with multilateral 1 For chronology and history of South-South United Nations processes/agendas. More diverse policy cooperation please refer to: https://www.segib.org/wp- perspectives are listed in Annex 2 of the research paper content/uploads/Chrono-South-South2014.pdf . For a “The Case of South-South Cooperation on Peace and SSC definition, summary of guiding principles and policy Development (P&D)” authored by Dr. Isabel Rocha de documents see: https://www.unsouthsouth.org/about/ Siqueira, BRICS Policy Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. about-sstc/ & https://www.unsouthsouth.org/library/policy- 3 For the full list of UNOSSC publications reviewed documents/ to identify SSC on P&D case studies and our partners for this
10 action, researchaction, andnarrativesofmultipleactors, including of study"."field This field of study constantly derived from and development isanemerging agendaandalsoa new 4 publication, pleaseseeAnnex. worldwide. more erupting complexforms ofviolencekeep of pressing need, andwhenmultipleever peace and inclusive development at a moment cooperationinpursuitof andtriangular South andenhancing South- highlighting, supporting commitment toinitial exampleofitslong-term thispublicationto beanUNOSSC expects ofthe casestudies. characteristics the sampleprofile based on some specific thecase studies included inthis report, to select the detailsofresearch and inclusive development. The Annex presents cooperationforagenda ofSouth-South peace facilitating theemerging and demand-driven around theworld, couldcontinue with itspartners how cooperation UNOSSC,indialogueandactive Chapter 3offerseffort. somespecificinsights into We for appreciate this theirdedication andsupport or exchange ofcommunicationswiththepartners. and/ interviews information brief by conducting dataand research team supplementary collected existing 17 UNOSSC publications. However, the from harvested ofexperiences arethey acollection examples are notcomprehensive norexhaustive; reiterating thatthese isworth development. It South-South cooperationfield of on peace and more to learn abouttheemerging an opportunity presents casestudies, thecollected whichprovide Chapter frameworks, 1 focuses Chapter 2 on policy violence, conflict andinsecurity violence, conflict affected ofthosedirectly andperspectives narratives by importantly, it's a field that should emerge the considering specificthematic area butmoreacademia, "experts"in
South-South and triangular cooperation on peace cooperationonpeace andtriangular South-South 4 methodologyused Through thisandothersections, theDeclaration and developing friendlyrelations among nations, a “ developingSouth nations solemnlydeclared: of Foreign Affairs ofthe Global coalition of137 DeclarationMinisterial agreed by allMinisters the2018 promotion ofpeaceanddevelopment. In cooperationanddialogueforof South-South the joint outcome documentstressing theimportance late 2018,theG77andChina In Resolutions Nations China, 2030 the Agenda and United 1. G77 the guidance from Policy and Ministerial Declaration. Declaration. Ministerial 6 Declaration2018.htm declaration canbeaccessedhere: cooperationforSouth development. The full 2018 Ministerial issues within the United Nations System, and promote South- on all major international enhance theirjoint negotiating capacity and promotearticulate their economic collective interests and which provides the means for to of the South the countries organization ofdeveloping countries Nations, inthe United 5 collaboration anddialogueamongGlobalSouth thatencourages framework provides apolicy developmentwithout sustainable .” development without peace no peace and that reaffirmed of mutual understandingandcooperation. They encouraged, and conflicts are solved in a spirit process where is dialogue participatory conflict, butalsorequires apositive, dynamic recognized that peace not only is the absence of including therightto development. They ofallhuman rights protection promotion and strengthen universal peace thefulfilment, and peoples, otherappropriate andoftaking measures to of principle ofequalrightsandself-determination based on international law, dialogue, respect for the The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of building of building reaffirmedThe Ministers theimportance culture of peace South-South and South-South Triangular Cooperation inAction Op. Cit.Paragraph three ofthe2018G77+China The Group of77isthelargest intergovernmental there can nosustainable be by strengthening multilateralism http://www.g77.org/doc/ 5 put forward a bold abold putforward 6 . 11
IntroductionChapter I SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
nations in order to achieve durable peace and realms must be considered in a holistic and inclusive development. While encouraging integrated way and in which national ownership collaboration, the Declaration stays true to the is more than a mere motto. The right balancing of guiding principles of South-South cooperation, all these factors requires a cross-cutting approach notably, respect for national sovereignty and and the solid implementation of responses in the dynamic horizontal relations between which all human rights are considered impartially. partners based on mutual support and a spirit of solidarity and respect. Importantly, It is perhaps no surprise that this outcome this coalition of Global South nations notes document was agreed at a time when multilateral the intrinsic interrelation between creating the efforts towards the achievement of Sustainable socioeconomic conditions for human security Development Goals (SDGs)7 were creating and peace and vice versa. The G77 and China renewed and innovative partnerships at all levels. Ministerial Declaration also emphasizes the South-South cooperation is one of the modalities importance of addressing the root causes of explicitly recognized as one of the catalysts of the conflict and invites countries to address the achievement of the SDGs (see Goal 17) and the structural drivers of conflict that force peoples solid implementation of the United Nations twin and countries to use violent means to achieve resolutions -a backbone of the UN Sustaining their objectives. The policy document seems to Peace Agenda8. indicate that there are no shortcuts to durable peace: countries should work towards addressing 7 For a full description of the Sustainable the structural conditions that generate violent Development Goals see UN dedicated website: https://www. conflicts. The Global South coalition observes that un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development- goals/ peacemaking is a multifaceted challenge in which 8 For an overview of the so-called “Sustaining Peace the social, economic, environmental and political Agenda” see the Report by United Nations Secretary-General
12 Malaysia-UNESCO Cooperation Programme (MUCP)
South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
In relation to the 2030 Agenda, the G77 and China cooperation for peace and development Ministerial Declaration cited above resonates represent far more than just a promise of future well with the 2030 Agenda preamble stating: collaboration.. Here we offer concrete positive Chapter I Chapter “Peace - we are determined to foster peaceful, examples of Southern-led and multi-stakeholder just and inclusive societies which are free from efforts for peace. This Global South commitment fear and violence. There can be no sustainable should continue and expand, always learning development without peace and no peace without from practice and the experience of those directly sustainable development”. As the case studies in affected by violence. this publication demonstrate, the “peace and development” efforts of Member States, UN In relation to the Sustaining Peace Agenda, agencies and intergovernmental organizations are the following paragraphs explore some salient linked to an interrelated series of SDGs9. Although policy guidance provided by the “twin resolutions” SDG 16 is highlighted by most partners as one and other important UN resolutions. Again, this of the SDGs to which they are contributing, they “breakthrough”11 policy guidance links well with also list others that are equally relevant in their the lessons learned and impacts briefly presented efforts to achieve a life free from fear, violence and in the case studies. Those already leading instability. Thus, initial evidence emerging from innovative South-South collaboration for peace this publication suggests a strong interrelation of and development seem to support some of the multiple factors as the pathways to peace. key messages and consideration of the Sustaining Peace vision to prevent the outbreak, escalation South-South and triangular cooperation provide and recurrence of violent conflict. relevant pathways to increase the likelihood of achieving the SDGs and are emerging in a dynamic Firstly, the principled approach of South-South context where they could support existing efforts cooperation recognizes the vital need to adapt towards peacemaking and sustaining peace.10. policy and programming solutions to the In all, it seems that South-South and triangular national priorities identified by sovereign member states, while considering the explicit António Guterres on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace released demand from the Global South member states in the lead-up to the U.N. General Assembly High-Level Meeting and their citizens. This is well aligned with the on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace held on April 24-25 2018 Sustaining Peace agenda which clearly notes that in New York and in accordance with the UN General Assembly and in each context the challenges and dynamics of Security Council “peacebuilding resolutions” (A/RES/70/262 and S/ conflicts are unique and different. Recognizing RES/ 2282). 9 In all the case studies included in Chapter 2, the this “uniqueness”, it is vital to do the utmost to reader will be able to visualize this interconnection between promote partnership, dialogue and mutual various SDGs. Also, in the Annex we present an overview on support around the priorities, needs and demands this aspect. of local, national and regional stakeholders. Policy 10 SDG 17 makes explicit mention of South-South and programmatic options and pathways to cooperation as follows: SDG 17, Target 17,9 “Enhance international support for implementing effective and prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable 11 An interesting article exploring the Sustaining development goals, including through North-South, South- Peace agenda as a “breakthrough” achievement is the UN’s South and triangular cooperation” and SDG 17, Target new “Sustaining Peace” Agenda: A Policy Breakthrough in 17.9.1: “Dollar value of financial and technical assistance the Making” which can be accessed here: https://www. (including through North-South, South-South and triangular stimson.org/content/un-new-sustaining-peace-agenda- cooperation) committed to developing countries” policy-breakthrough-making.
13 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
and recurrence of conflict need to be defined mechanism which will serve as an additional at national and regional levels, with solidarity, driver of strengthened cooperation across UN coherence and cooperation among those most agencies, especially in the light of the complexity directly affected by violence, fear and conflict. In of interlinked factors in the pursuit of peace and short, if the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach development. is to be transformed, as proposed in the Sustaining Peace Agenda, then the voice of the Global South Finally, we would like to highlight two more UN countries and their peoples can no longer be resolutions which make a clear plea to promote dismissed or marginalized in peace processes. A Global South leadership in the massive efforts “whole of society approach” and multi-stakeholder required to promote peace. For example, the dialogue and cooperation is vital for sustaining resolution “Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of peace. The case studies suggest concrete ways in Conflict” states that “Learning from the experiences which these statements can be put into practice. of other countries that have gone through In a nutshell, the case studies presented in comparable transitions from conflict or crisis can help Chapter 2 are examples of attempts to increase national authorities decide which approaches to coherence, placing value on crucial factors such institution-building best fit their needs”14. In the same as “proximity”12. Closeness and a solid approach resolution, there is a call for peacebuilding efforts to partnership building are distinguished by the to benefit from the contribution of neighbouring partners as a key component of ensuring durable countries sharing similar socioeconomic and legitimate peace. This is aligned with the characteristics. All the case studies provided in this South-South cooperation principles. publication are examples of countries that faced similar problems which, after developing practical Secondly, it is important to note that the solutions, opened up to engage in dialogue and Sustaining Peace twin resolutions encourage all cross-fertilization of ideas and options for peace “United Nations leadership to support South-South with other Global South counterparts. UNOSSC and triangular cooperation in peacebuilding”13. The is confident that many more examples could assembly of nations very clearly invites all UN be documented as it continues to implement a agencies that serve it to promote peace, security knowledge generation strategy which supports and development around the world by developing and facilitates rapid, relevant and forward-looking a model of work which is truly responsive to the sharing of lessons in safe, coherent, on-line and needs and demands of the citizens in the Global off-line peer-to-peer initiatives. South. In this regard, UNOSSC is leading the way in the process of setting up an UN inter-agency
12 Op. Cit. For a more in-depth argument on the relations between South-South principles and approaches and the Sustaining Peace agenda please see: “The Case of South-South Cooperation on Peace and Development (P&D)” authored by Dr. Isabel Rocha de Siqueira, BRICS Policy Center, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 13 See paragraph 44 Peacebuilding and Sustaining 14 For more details, see paragraph 47 of the resolution Peace Resolutions (A/72/707- S/2018/43), including “Peacebuilding in the Aftermath of Conflict (A/67/499 – S/ examples of how UNOSSC has provided SSC support in 2012/746) which also gives as good practice, the example various countries. of the civilian capacities initiative (CAPMATCH).
14 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action Chapter I Chapter
2. South-South cooperation for peace and beyond, above, around and in alignment with development in practice the policy guidance presented above, there is a growing number of national, regional and global actors already committed to creating South- Beyond policy agreements and resolutions, South dialogue and cooperation to foster the however, the purpose of this publication is to necessary reconfigurations and mutual learning reveal that the emergence and consolidation to sustain peace. This publication is one effort to of the field of “South-South cooperation for give visibility to the tangible, transformative and peace and inclusive development” is a reality. powerful examples of South-South cooperation South-South and triangular cooperation is for peace and development that already exist. happening in practice, through multiple, diverse, demand-driven forms of collaboration aiming at sustaining peace by addressing the drivers Furthermore, with the creation of Programme of violent conflict. Action seem to be moving “South-South cooperation for Peace and faster than declarations. The case studies are Development15”, UNOSSC is responding to an example of sound and solid peacebuilding, state-building and people-centred humanitarian 15 For more details on the Programme Theory of Change and initial work please see UNOSSC website: responses led by Southern actors and developed https://www.unsouthsouth.org/our-work/knowledge-and- in many countries of Latin America, Asia, Africa advisory-services/south-south-cooperation-on-peace-and- and Eastern Europe. Together, they show that, development/
15 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
the demands from an increasing number of relevant knowledge in the peace-development Member States, UN Agencies, intergovernmental nexus, working closely with Member States and organizations, regional organizations, think UN agencies to provide expert and timely support tanks and civil society organizations which are to implement transformative peace initiatives. saying that South-South cooperation must play UNOSSC is in dialogue with countries such as a stronger role if the world is going to find locally Colombia, Rwanda and the g7+ member countries owned, innovative and reinvigorated avenues - coalition of 20 fragile states that came together for sustainable peace. For example, UNOSSC to share experience and knowledge18 to find the has launched a joint initiative to promote best avenues to leverage the potential of Southern solidarity for peace and development with more leadership for peace. As UNOSSC establishes the than 30 so-called Small States in association UN Inter-Agency Mechanism to support South- with the Commonwealth Secretariat. In the South Cooperation, we are advancing dialogue initial open consultations with Member States’ and coordination with relevant agencies, notably representatives,16 they recognized the unique the Department of Political and Peacebuilding added value of UNOSSC facilitating horizontal Affairs (DPPA), UN-Women, UNESCO, UNDP, and innovative learning spaces and tools which OCHA, IOM and others. Through these dialogues can bring together Southern actors to share good and partnerships, UNOSSC aims to support practices, challenges and solutions in a context of further harnessing of the existing knowledge mutual respect and non-conditionality. UNOSSC is and experience and contribute to leveraging the also facilitating the formation of a group of Global potential of Southern leadership for peace. South think tanks17 which offer cutting-edge and Examples from practice are showcased in the 16 For more information about this initiative and case studies initially collected for this publication results from the consultations in New York and London as well as ongoing programmatic efforts guided please see: https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2019/01/25/ by the long-term vision of promoting peace and joint-unossc-commonwealth-initiative-for-peace-and- development. development-in-small-states-launched-at-unossc/ & https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/12/12/south-south- commonwealth-consultation-forges-a-path-to-peace-and- www.ssc-globalthinkers.org/group/9/about development/ 18 Up-to-date information on the g7+ membership 17 For more information about the Global South and work can be found in their official website: http://www. Thinkers on Peace and Development please see: https:// g7plus.org/
16 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
3. Emerging framework to guide nature of “peace and development”, the theory the identification of “peace and and practice of peace studies as well as lessons on conflict prevention in the light of the contextual development” experiences: Brief I Chapter methodological notes dynamics, the research team developed a set of criteria to support the coherent identification and selection of experiences21. As the research team initiated the meta-analysis to review the 17 publications to harvest existing documented experiences of South-South The criteria for selection of SSC peace and cooperation for peace and development, it was development (P&D) case studies for this necessary to set up an evolving framework to publication is as follows: guide the selection of cases from the plethora of examples provided in UNOSSC publications. The I. Explicit intention to transform identified key question was: root causes of conflict and/ or drivers of violence, insecurity, instability and crime in a given context(s) WHAT MAKES AN INITIATIVE A CASE OF SSC II. Clear purpose to promote peace during one FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT?19 or more simultaneous phases of the “peace continuum”: The challenge of working across pillars, beyond thematic (and SDG) silos, and considering • Preventing the outbreak and the so-called "development-peace-security- escalation of conflict – addressing the humanitarian nexus" is understanding that root causes generating violent conflict, "there is no peace without development and no insecurity and instability development without peace" had a direct impact • Preventing the continuation of on the methodology devised for this piece of work conflict: mediation and conflict/crisis/ and, indeed for the emerging field of South-South tensions management cooperation on peace and development. As some • Preventing the recurrence of conflict: partners and peer reviewers noted, the complex conflict transformation and long-term interdependence of factors associated with gains to achieve durable peace creating a context of peace means that, in reality, everything could be “peace and development”. III. Partners’ self-assessment on the South-South and triangular nature of Considering this methodological challenge, the documented initiative: this means the research team could not simply work under partners’ recognition of the effort as an SSTC the assumption that only those experiences endeavour led by Southern actors directly aligned with the achievement of SDG 20 21 It is important to note that the setting up of these 16 were relevant and should be included in this criteria was informed by multiple listening exercises conducted publication. Thus, recognizing the interrelated by the UNOSSC SSC P&D team over the past months, notable the joint work with the Global South Thinkers on Peace and 19 Please see more details of the research Development, the consultations with Commonwealth Small methodology in the Annex States, the ongoing dialogue with specialized UN agencies 20 For more details about SDG 16 and all SDGs working tirelessly to support peace around the world and the and major framework agreements please access: https:// principled approach of the g7+ countries working under the sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg16 auspices of the so-called “New Deal for Fragile States”
17 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the research team reviewed all the UNOSSC from the practical experience of those directly publications, they sought to identify whether the implementing cutting-edge initiatives, will it be documented experiences met all three criteria. possible to continue redefining the “peace and After careful consideration, and in dialogue development field”. with our partners, it was decided to include the 21 cases22 described in Chapter 2. The cases are Finally, it is important to note, that as the research presented as more in alignment with one of the team reviewed all UNOSSC publications, a good above phases of the “peace continuum”. number of cases were found with the potential to be widely shared across regions. These additional To further explore the linkages between “peace examples will be kept in UNOSSC's database23, and and development” and the interrelated purposes should soon be available to many Global South and impacts of the case studies, all partners were countries, based on the demand from countries invited to respond to one common question and with the support from Member States. "which will hopefully shed more light on the challenge of identifying how and why one UNOSSC recognizes that this is only the beginning intervention is directly contributing to peace. This of a more in-depth process of self-reflection and question was: mutual learning in which Southern actors involved in South-South cooperation endeavours could share their perspectives and knowledge gained HOW DOES THIS INITIATIVE CONTRIBUTE from the concrete lessons gained from practice. By TO PEACE? sharing these initial insights in this publication, we hope to inspire all those undertaking or planning As the reader will see in Chapter 2, all partners South-South dialogues for peace to dedicate responded to this question. Even though this time and resources to systematically organize research process did not request independent invaluable opportunities to cross-fertilize ideas findings based on in-depth evaluations to explore for action. These spaces for knowledge sharing are the answers in context and through a more catalysts and multipliers of further positive change. objective lens, the responses nevertheless offer UNOSSC recognizes the value of peer learning and interesting insights which can guide future action mechanisms for mutual support and feedback in and research and joint reflection to guide future bringing together peers from Southern countries South-South collaborative work for peace and and regions. This why one of UNOSSC's strategic development. objectives is to document lessons from South- South practice and, subsequently, create the The research team cautions that this is merely an safe spaces to share lessons and ideas. Chapter 3 initial first attempt to define a thematic field in briefly suggests options for moving forward in our which very rich multi-stakeholder South-South joint endeavour to ensure that South-South and initiatives are evolving. The multi-dimensional triangular cooperation expands its potential as a and cross-pillar approach oriented towards catalyst for peace and development. conflict prevention is slowly but surely emerging. Only with time and by generating systematic opportunities for knowledge generation
22 All the cases are presented in Chapter 2. The Annex 23 UNOSSC is about to launch the “South-South contains an easy-to-reference index of case studies included Galaxy”, an on-line platform to promote partnership building, in this publication. connecting “demand” and “supply”.
18 South-South and triangular cooperation experiences to promote peace and Chapter II development SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
This chapter presents 21 case studies on South- The description of and information about the South and triangular cooperation on peace South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives and development harvested from existing 17 are presented in accordance with the following UNOSSC existing publications and following the key points: methodological process briefly introduced in Chapter 1 and the Annex. • Title: as far as possible the main themes and focus of the initiative are indicated in the title. With the aim of suggesting through analysis • Brief description how the experiences are linked to the “peace continuum”, the case studies are ordered under • Participating countries and regions three main sections: • Geographical scope • Description of the South-South and triangular • Experiences oriented towards preventing cooperation initiative the outbreak and escalation of conflict – addressing the root causes generating • Impacts demonstrated so far violent conflict, insecurity and instability • Lessons learned with special focus on SSC • Experiences oriented towards preventing and peace and development (P&D) the continuation of conflict: mediation and • The full list of SDGs involved conflict, crisis and tensions management • Participating institutions, • Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict: conflict • Sources: the original UNOSSC publications transformation and long-term gains to • Contact details including website achieve durable peace information.
20 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 1: Experiences oriented towards preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflict
South-South peer learning to support access to justice II Chapter
Round tables, study tours, reports and peer learning notes on how to improve access to justice in g7+ countries
Challenge The g7+ Member Access to justice is one of the areas in which countries States: a total of affected by conflict and fragility have more to learn from 20 countries each other. Justice is a universal human aspiration, but Cross-continental cooperation its application needs to be contextually grounded. In countries recovering from conflict, there are often tensions Geographical regions1 as well as complementarities between restorative and Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean retributive justice, and between formal and traditional justice systems.
South-South cooperation: Brief description Peer learning has been a central pillar of F2F (fragile-to-fragile) cooperation and as a modality of South-South cooper- ation since the inception of the g7+. It is based on the recognition of the value of the g7+ countries’ knowledge and experience of challenges related to the transition to resilience. The g7+ F2F programme has seen the implementation of a variety of peer-learning modalities, including round tables, study tours and the elaboration and dissemination of peer-learning notes in relation to access to justice.
Specifically, the g7+ organized two high-level round tables to exchange experiences on how to address the challenges of ensuring access to justice for all. These round tables took place in Monrovia in 2014 and at the g7+ European office in Lisbon in 2017. They brought together ministers of justice from various g7+ countries to discuss how to address the capacity, financial, IT and other constraints that beset the justice sector in countries in fragile situations, and how best to make use of international assistance to the sector. The New Deal for engagement in fragile states (International dialogue on peacebuilding and state building, 2011) set out five new goals, with justice as the third goal.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Limited access to justice disempowers individuals and communities from claiming their rights and defending themselves from injustice. Access to justice is connected with economic growth and investment as well as equity and social justice.
SDG INVOLVED
1. According to the UN Statistical Commission https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/
21 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
IMPACTS PARTNERS 18 States: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Two g7+ high-level round tables: one in Monrovia in Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, 2014 and another at the g7+ European office in Lisbon Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, in 2017; Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo with the exception of Sao Tome and Principe and Yemen that were not Participants in the latter round table agreed to members at that time. undertake a process of mapping lessons from across the g7+ in the area of access to justice, which is due to The g7+ Secretariat begin in the near future.
LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: Countries experiencing crises or transitioning to resilience are the holders of much knowledge of great relevance to other countries in similar situations.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation” 2 (2017) – page 27
Contact details [email protected] g7+ Headquarters | www.g7plus.org
2. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/11/29/fragile-to-fragile-cooperation-voluntarism-cooperation-and-solidarity-2017/
22 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
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South-South knowledge generation on natural resource management II Chapter
Member countries of the g7+ shared knowledge and lessons on natural resource management, producing a publication to scale up learning. The case demonstrates the wealth of knowledge that the g7+ countries possess on this key domain pertinent to conflict prevention
Challenge The g7+ member States: a total of 20 countries1 While the g7+ countries struggle with issues of conflict The membership of the g7+ currently comprises 20 States: and poverty, most are also endowed with vast natural Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, resources of high economic and strategic value to the Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, global economy. Instead of making a major contribution Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor- to financing public services and boosting economic Leste, Togo and Yemen. Membership is voluntary, subject to no development, the extractive industries present challenges objection from the existing members. (SSiA on the g7+ page 15) at a variety of levels (economic, social, political and environmental), and that avoiding the “natural resource curse” is a difficult task for most of these countries. Positive Cross-continental cooperation management of natural resources has a great added value in complex processes of conflict prevention and post- Geographical regions2 conflict developmental gains Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean
South-South cooperation: Brief description A survey of natural resource management in g7+ countries was undertaken in 2013 to consolidate existing knowledge amongst the group and support ‘peer learning events’ among countries. A publication was produced in 2014 containing 18 country profiles. It provides key information on natural resources in each country, the main extractive industries, the legal and fiscal frameworks in place for managing natural resources and issues related to governance and transparency. It forms part of an emerging g7+ research programme and is designed to be a practical source of knowledge sharing on the extractive industries, and will be continuously updated and developed over time.
A summary of emerging lessons, shared challenges and opportunities draws together some of the emerging themes from the country profiles, linking natural resources to the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States and the New Deal’s five peacebuilding and state-building goals. Severing the link between resource extraction and conflict requires better risk identification, improved monitoring and safeguarding measures such as wealth sharing agreements, sovereign
SDG INVOLVED
1. The membership of the g7+ currently comprises 20 States: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo and Yemen. Membership is voluntary, subject to no objection from the existing members. (SSiA on the g7+ page 15) 2. According to the UN Statistical Commission https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/
23 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
wealth funds and efforts at greater transparency. In the future, the g7+ Secretariat plans to organize additional peer learning events and study tours on this topic, potentially involving relevant multilateral actors such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A revised and expanded edition of the publication, with updated in- depth information on each of the g7+ member countries is planned for 2019, following the already published edition.3
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Many conflict affected countries have significant natural resource endowments.. However, mismanagement of the natural resources has often undermined the potential for growth and stability that could be achieved from the natural wealth. The publication helps in gathering relevant experiences in effective management of resources and is used for peer learning purposes.
IMPACTS PARTNERS 18 States: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, With regard to the assessment and mapping exercise, it is Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, clear that there are many positive trends and opportunities Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, that can be capitalized on in the years ahead. Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, with the exception of Sao Tome and Principe and Yemen that were not members at that time. Firstly, much of the resource wealth of g7+ countries The g7+ Organization remain unexplored, but is estimated to be sizeable and leaves ample room for growth.
Secondly, as demonstrated by the country profiles, g7+ LESSONS LEARNED countries are already taking positive steps to improve On SSC: SSC is playing an important role with the the benefits accrued from their endowments of natural sharing of knowledge, as there is a wealth of lessons and resource, for example by amending laws, reviewing contracts experiences that can be mobilized from conflict-affected and building institutional capacity and accountability. countries in the area of natural resources management.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation”4 (2017) – page 27
Contact details [email protected] g7+ Headquarters | www.g7plus.org
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276288380_Natural_Resources_in_g7_countries 4 https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/11/29/fragile-to-fragile-cooperation-voluntarism-cooperation-and-solidarity-2017/
24 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
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South-South and triangular cooperation to enhance natural resources management (water) II Chapter for conflict prevention in the Lake Chad Region The biosphere and heritage of Lac Chad (BIOPALT) project aims to support member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in safeguarding and sustainably managing their shared hydrological, biological and cultural resources
Challenge The Lake Chad region is facing a combination of the most Chad, Cameroon, devastating crises of our times; over the past decades, it has Central African Republic, witnessed an escalating security crisis combined with humanitarian Niger and Nigeria and large-scale ecological crises. The Lake’s shrinkage (as the rainfall has declined over the past 50 years); the lake’s surface area has Cross-regional cooperation shrunk by more than 90 per cent between 1960 to 1985 and has forced a large number of people to migrate. It has also created the Geographical regions1 conditions for some of the most vulnerable among them to be West Africa and Central Africa recruited by violent extremist groups, such as Boko Haram.
South-South cooperation: Brief description To provide solutions for the Lake Chad Basin, a financing agreement was signed between UNESCO and the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in 2017 to fund the BIOPLAT project.2 This project is a component of the Programme to rehabilitate and strengthen the resilience of Lake Chad Basin Systems (PRESIBALT), funded by the African Development Bank.
The project will specifically provide early warning systems for droughts and floods to strengthen the resilience capacities of local communities to climate change; train 300 policymakers, scientists and community leaders and mobilize 30,000 lake residents for the peaceful management of natural resources, including water resources. It will also rehabilitate degraded ecosystems, such as ponds, oases and flood plains, to implement income-generating activities based on a green economy that seek to improve the livelihoods of local communities. The project also aims to promote transboundary inscription of the lake as a biosphere reserve and World Heritage site.
All of these activities will encourage the return of displaced populations and encourage existing populations to remain there, especially young people and women. It also aims to rebuild hope and approach the future with optimism, in a climate of peace and sustainable development for the various communities living near the lake.
SDG INVOLVED
1 According to the UN Statistical Commission https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/ 2 For the infographic on the project refer to: https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/biopalt_infographic-en_digital.pdf and for any other detailed information on the project : https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-launches-biopalt-project-safeguard-lake-chad
25 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Under the BIOPALT mandate, the project is designed to contribute to peace through the following activities: sustainable management of resources to prevent scarcities that may generate conflict; fostering cooperation through managing water resources using the Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential (PCCP) concept; increasing knowledge and information sharing for better understanding of the dynamics of the Basin; creating livelihoods and wealth through green economy activities for communities, thus reducing conflict and wars; reduction of youth radicalism, as youth are more committed to green livelihoods and advocacy and reversal of the negative spiral in the Basin through ecological restoration, which can contribute to a reduction in conflict arising from depleted and scarce resources.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Data on the impact is being collected by UNESCO Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC); International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); AGRHYMET Regional Centre and partners and will be reported in the future. International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Regional Post-graduate Training School of Integrated Management of Tropical Forests and Lands (ERAIFT)
LESSONS LEARNED ensuring their active participation and cooperation in On SSC: BIOPALT is funded by various loans and the sustainable management of Lake Chad; credit from countries which are managed as a pool; On SSC: financial solidarity gives flexibility to On P&D: transboundary cooperation is important facilitate project management; to build common management, promote traditional On SSC: maintaining permanent dialogue between management systems for conflict resolution and stakeholders, empowering all stakeholders and promote peace building through intercultural dialogue.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action “UNESCO South-South and Triangular Cooperation” 3 (2018) – page 36
Contact details Clare Stark and Junzhu Zheng | UNESCO-HQ (Bureau of Strategic Planning) [email protected] and [email protected] | https://en.unesco.org/biopalt
3 https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/12/unesco-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-in-action-2018/
26 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
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South-South cooperation and diplomacy: Junior diplomats training programme (JDTP) II Chapter
JDTP fosters understanding and cooperation among young diplomats
Challenge Diplomats are at the forefront of promoting their nation’s interests and forging bilateral and multilateral Turkic speaking states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, relationships for peace and security. The effective Kyrgyzstan, Turkey) and Hungary engagement of diplomats is also essential for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, given that ministries of foreign affairs Cross-regional cooperation serve as direct links between the multilateral, regional and national authorities. In order to support the Geographical regions evolution of cooperation among young diplomats, the Eastern Europe (Hungary), Western Asia and Turkic Council has devised a tailored training initiative. Central Asia.
South-South cooperation: Brief description This annual programme brings together aspiring young diplomats from all four Turkic Council member States. The main goals of the programme are: a) to raise awareness of the Turkic Council, its member States and cooperation structures in the Turkic world; b) to bring junior diplomats closer as they are expected to collaborate throughout their careers; c) to contribute to their knowledge of the theory and practice of diplomacy. The two-week programme takes place in a different member State each year and is a combination of lectures, language training, and trips. Lecturers from all over the world share their knowledge on various areas of international cooperation, and ambassadors offer their wisdom from decades of diplomatic experience.
A noteworthy feature of the Junior Diplomat Training Programme is the visits to important historical and tourist sites, familiarizing participants not only with the history and culture but also with the developmental challenges of the host country. At the end of the two weeks, young diplomats have not only met colleagues from other member States but they have also learned from each other and passed through a common capacity-building process that will further ease their cooperation in the future.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Diplomacy dates back to the history of humankind and is an essential apparatus for the establishment and development of contacts between the governments of different states. It is usually considered to be the primary peacemaking tool of a states’ foreign policy and improves relations among nations by influencing the direction of negotiations and their outcomes. With this initiative, the Secretariat of the Turkic Council is focused on the creation of strong friendship bonds among young
SDG INVOLVED
27 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
diplomats, building a sense of regional ownership, improving their capacity for dialogue, and other technical skills, believing that they will take forward the long-lasting friendly relations among the Turkic speaking States, as these young diplomats in their career paths will become ambassadors and high-ranking government officials of their respective countries.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Since the inception of the programme in 2014, 113 Kyrgyzstan and Turkey and of Hungary junior diplomats have benefited from the training The Secretariat of the Cooperation Council of Turkic programme, 51 of them women; Speaking States *(Turkic Council) The programme has recently also been opened to junior diplomats from other countries. For example, invitations were extended to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Hungary, which has an observer LESSONS LEARNED status at the Turkic Council On SSC: The talks by high-ranking officials and peers Trust created through shared experiences, were found to be very informative, interesting and strengthened technical capacities of young dip- highly motivating. lomats and increased understanding and coop- eration in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora; On SSC: The young diplomats were especially interested in hearing about each other’s professional The Secretariat is determined to keep gender experiences, learning practical solutions related to balance and to update the JDTP every year diplomatic service. based on evaluations and recommendations of the participants and will continue to serve as On SSC: Experience built over the years indicates a platform for young diplomats with high-level that it would be more effective and better serve the officials of the Turkic Council. objectives of the JDTP if junior diplomats had previous knowledge of national sensitivities.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Council of Turkic Speaking States” 1 (2017) – page 42
Contact details Jeyhun Shahverdiyev | Turkic Council2 [email protected]
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/09/25/the-cooperation-council-of-turkic-speaking-states-the-turkic-council-2017/ 2. http://www.turkkon.org/en-US/general_information/299/308
28 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
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South-South cooperation to promote citizens’ coexistence through arts and human II Chapter rights education Addressing the educational needs of vulnerable populations to prevent violent behaviour in early childhood through art and culture
Challenge Ciudad Juarez in Mexico has been one of the municipalities most affected by violence over the last few years. Mexico and Uruguay High homicide rates have left a significant number of orphaned children. They are neglected by their families Cross-regional cooperation and teachers and also by public policies. Children and adolescents experience family and gang-related violence, Geographical regions stress, anguish and anxiety, as well as other disorders and Central and South America addictions. These issues are reflected in school violence, bullying and other behavioural problems.
South-South cooperation: Brief description Mexico and Uruguay have developed an initiative called “Early childhood: Art, human rights and citizen coexistence” to strengthen human rights education from early childhood through art in schools located in violence-prone areas intended to reduce all forms of social discrimination. The initiative targeted children from 3-8 years old, their families, teachers and tutors. The starting point in both countries was to invite schools to join the project by carrying out activities to prevent violence and discrimination. Each participant/partner - Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and Ciudad Juárez - addressed these objectives taking different curricular and methodological approaches.
The main project activities were structured around two intervention areas: developing an artistic dimension in institutional education projects (Proyecto educativo institucional - PEI) by promoting a sense of belonging, cooperation and respect for differences within the learning communities; and enhance teaching skills by addressing problems in teaching practices, using case studies as a problem to be solved, to contribute to children’s development in terms of creativity, emotional expressions and affection. In the pilot schools, four types of workshops were conducted for parents who were educated in performing arts (puppetry), visual arts and human rights. The workshops achieve progress towards an effective pedagogical transformation by designing an intervention model in which the educational community is responsible for designing and putting into practice actions that integrate human rights and arts in each school.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? The foundations of any society are children. Whenever we make improvements related to human rights, we can expect that we will create and strengthen a culture for peace, once it promotes a culture of respect for others. This fosters an incentive in the community towards a different direction other than violence.
SDG INVOLVED
29
SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
IMPACTS PARTNERS Uruguay – Montevideo City Council and Teatro Solis In Mexico, the series of DENI programme (Derechos Mexico – Ciudad Juaréz, Chihuahua State Human Rights de las niñas y los niños) www.deni.org.mx – a by- Commission (CEDH) and SUPERARTE A.C. product of the main programme) is currently being Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos produced. They incorporate the project’s themes in a language and format adapted to children and have been incorporated as a work tool in Mexican schools; In Uruguay, under the National Human Rights Education Plan, the Ministry of Education and Culture has committed funds to finance additional hours for teacher training activities in Montevideo and follow- up in three new schools pilot.
LESSONS LEARNED On P&D: The project was successful in advancing contribution to social impacts, they have become a a pedagogical model that efficiently integrated permanent reference material for users since the end art and human rights. The model proved suitable of the project; for implementing prevention actions targeted at children and adults and for developing workshops to On SSC: By designing projects with a train educators using the methodological guide; multidimensional approach, there is a need to involve different levels of government and aw well as civil On SSC: Although it is still too early to measure society organizations to provide for a sustainable the actual effectiveness of those materials as a initiative and a multiplication effect.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE SSTC Good Practices for SD, Vol. 21 (2018) – page 95
Contact details Roberto Mohar Rivera | AMEXCID2 (https://www.gob.mx/amexcid) , Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico [email protected] | http://www.cndh.tv/ninos.php & www.deni.org.mx
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/09/25/the-cooperation-council-of-turkic-speaking-states-the-turkic-council-2017/ 2. http://www.turkkon.org/en-US/general_information/299/308 30 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
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South-South and triangular cooperation to support freedom of expression, public II Chapter access to information and safety of journalists in Latin America and Africa The judiciary system plays an essential role in the “three Ps” (Prevent, Protect, and Prosecute) to ensure journalists’ safety and end impunity for crimes and attacks against them. This Latin-American initiative aims to train members of the judiciary to protect countries: 16 countries freedom of expression in Latin America and Africa. Africa: 42 countries
Challenge Regional cooperation in both continents There is a high level of attacks against journalists and the deterioration of freedom of expression and press freedom Geographical regions for all in society. In the past 12 years (2006 to 2017), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and UNESCO’s Director-General reported the killings of 1009 Africa and expanding soon to Asia. journalists and media workers in the world. Less than 10 per cent of these cases have been resolved judicially.
South-South cooperation: Brief description Since 2013, UNESCO and its partners have been facilitating South-South and triangular cooperation to train members of the judiciary on freedom of expression, public access to information, and safety of journalists. The initiative is built on a massive open online course (MOOC). The online courses are organized in five- or six-weekly thematic modules and address the international legal framework on freedom of expression; access to information, the role of the judiciary in the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed against journalists and media workers; the challenges related to enforcing criminal law, diversity and pluralism in the media and new challenges to freedom of expression, such as freedom of expression and the Internet. On the ground, workshops targeting judges from Supreme and High Courts and regional courts are also organized on the same themes.
In Latin America, this line of work has been undertaken in collaboration with Supreme Courts, Associations of Judiciary Operators, the Ibero-American Judicial Summit, the Ibero-American network of Judicial Schools, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas. UNESO also launched a MOOC in October 2017 on freedom of expression and safety of journalists in Africa for a total of 42 countries, as well as a seminar on the same issue in Pretoria, South Africa with participation of judges from 13 countries and the court of the Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice, and the African Court and Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights were fundamental partners of the project.
SDG INVOLVED
31 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Freedom of expression and safety of journalists, as well as ending impunity for crimes committed against them, is of vital importance to protect rule of law, as well as human rights more broadly. Only when the rule of law is respected can citizens have confidence in democratic processes, invest in the sustainable development of their society and ensure the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. These principles contribute to promoting the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions” of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental rights. As recognized by the international community, sustainable development would come to a standstill without encouraging respect for the rule of law and ensuring fundamental freedoms.
IMPACTS
8,000 judicial actors were trained, including 1,830 A database of jurisprudence in Spanish was developed judges from 22 countries in the region, with knowledge in partnership with Columbia University in New York; this sharing among participants on their cross-country database groups key rulings from 16 countries in Latin experiences; America and others from the rest of the world
Resources were developed, such as a toolkit for Curriculum on bioethics, and ethics of science (Bioethics Ibero-American Judicial Schools and several guides core curriculum) were developed and have been for judicial operators, to facilitate dialogue between included in some law schools - this is the case of the them and the media; the Ibero-American Judicial Dominican Republic law school. Summit officially recommended the adoption of the toolkit and signed a pro SDG16 declaration in 2018. The initiative developed in Latin America has also Electoral authorities have joined the discussion with impacted other regions (Africa, Asia) through South- special interest in developing strategies, aligned with South cooperation, other sectors (Culture and Science) International Standards, to fight "fake news". and other stakeholders (regulators).
32 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
PARTNERS LESSONS LEARNED In LAC: Associations of Judiciary Operators, the Ibero- American Judicial Summit, the Ibero-American Network of Permanent monitoring, including permanent dialogue, Judicial Schools, the Inter-American Commission on Human II Chapter Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the with key stakeholders from the South is fundamental Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas and many for reassessing expectations and correcting the countries’ Supreme Courts initial design of particular activities. Monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the South-South In Africa: Economic Community of West African States Court cooperation project is also a challenge. of Justice and the African Court and Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights It is also relevant to foster connections with global monitoring exercises, such as the 2030 agenda, particularly related to SDG 16.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action “UNESCO South-South and Triangular Cooperation1 (2018) – page 44
Contact details Clare Stark and Junzhu ZHENG | UNESCO-HQ (Bureau of Strategic Planning) | [email protected] and j.zheng@ unesco.org | Website: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/school_for_judges_ lessons_in_freedom_of_information_and_e/ https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/12/unesco-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-in-action-2018/
33 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 1: Experiences oriented towards preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to promote a culture of peace and non- violence in Africa
Building peace by fostering inclusive, peaceful and resilient societies
Challenge New threats to human security in Africa, in particular cross-border threats for which the international community does not seem prepared, weigh on the construction of a culture of peace: degradation of the environment, climate change, migratory movements and population displacements, crime and international terrorism, increased illicit trafficking of all kinds (human African countries beings, drugs, weapons, etc.), recrudescence of territorial Regional cooperation conflicts and extremism particularly ethnic and religious, contestation of electoral processes, unequal distribution Geographical regions of wealth and access to natural resources, violence against Africa women, increased vulnerability of youth and minorities.
South-South cooperation: Brief description In Africa, UNESCO is supporting Member States to prevent violence and conflicts which have a negative impact on education. A project entitled “Promoting a culture of peace and non-violence through education” 1 began in 2012. Through this project, UNESCO developed a comprehensive mapping of current policy and resources of 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which provides a picture of how a culture of peace and non-violence is fostered. In this regard, culture of peace values were found in 84 per cent of national education policies and systems. The mapping is complemented by a compilation of endogenous oral traditions (such as traditional conflict prevention and resolution practices) and elements of history of Africa from within the African subregions. Since the holding of the Pan-African Forum "Sources and Resources for a Culture of Peace" organized by the Angolan Government, UNESCO and the African Union (AU) in March 2013 in Luanda, Angola, the programme "Promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence in Africa” is now the frame of reference for the" Plan of Action for a Culture of Peace in Africa/Action for Peace ".
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? The overall objective of this action for Africa is to rely on the continent for sources of inspiration and the potential of its cultural, natural and human resources and to identify concrete proposals for building sustainable peace, which is the cornerstone of endogenous development and Pan-Africanism.
SDG INVOLVED
(See more at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/africa/priority-africa/culture-of-peace-in-africa/)
34 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action Chapter II Chapter
IMPACTS PARTNERS Angola - Ministry of Culture Creation of the Network of Foundations and Research Institutions to promote a culture of Ivory Coast - Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for the Search peace in Africa in September 2013, in Addis Ababa for Peace (Ethiopia) Gabon
Creation of the Pan-African Youth Network for the Culture of Peace (PAYNCOP) in December 2014 in Libreville (Gabon), and the establishment of the Pan- LESSONS LEARNED African Women's Network project for the culture of peace with the creation of the first section of the On SSC: Strategic partnerships established with network in Gabon in 2018. Member States, the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, civil society, private A Pan-African School of peace (EPAP) was created sector and specialized UN institutions, are vital for in 2017 in Yamoussoukro (Côte d'Ivoire) and public the implementation of Priority Africa (one of two of and youth awareness campaigns were launched, UNESCO’s global priorities), in the context of South- many on the occasion of the celebration of 21 South cooperation. September, International Day of Peace, Angola, Burundi Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Mali and Sao Tome and Principe.
UNESCO and the Government of Angola have decided to create and implement a biennale of the culture of peace called "Biennial of Luanda", the first edition of which will take place in September 2019.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action “UNESCO South-South and Triangular Cooperation 2 (2018) – page 21
Contact details Clare Stark and Junzhu ZHENG | UNESCO-HQ (Bureau of Strategic Planning) | [email protected] and j.zheng@ unesco.org | http://www.unesco.org/new/en/africa/priority-africa/culture-of-peace-in-africa/ https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/12/unesco-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-in-action-2018/
35 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 2: Experiences oriented towards preventing the continuation of conflict
South-South support to electoral processes in Guinea-Bissau
South-South financial support and technical assistance for the organization of the legislative and presidential elections of 2014 and 2018 in Guinea-Bissau
Challenge Since gaining its independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau and has experienced conflict and political upheaval on several Timor-Leste occasions. In April 2012, a coup d’état by members of the armed forces overthrew the President and Prime Minister, Cross-continental cooperation and led to the formation of a transitional government whose legitimacy was disputed domestically and Geographical regions internationally. After more than a year, holding fresh West Africa and South-east Asia elections was a condition for bringing the country back to constitutional normalcy.
South-South cooperation: Brief description Timor-Leste provided support to Guinea-Bissau in the 2014 elections, helping to ensure that the electoral process - especially the electoral registration phase, which is crucial for credible democratic results – was conducted in a fair, transparent and nationally and internationally recognized manner.
Following a high-level mission led by H.E. Xanana Gusmão, the then Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, a specially-chartered cargo plane filled with materials and equipment to support the electoral registration process, including IT servers, computers, electricity generators and registration kits arrived in the last quarter of 2013. The support mission was formally extended for a second phase in February 2014 for two months. This phase included holding civic education campaigns to encourage citizens to register and vote; continuing IT and logistical support to the Electoral Commission; organizing public debates among the candidates; financial assistance to cover the costs of the electoral administration; and the donation of two pick-up trucks to Guinea-Bissau’s defence and security forces in order to help maintain law and order during the elections.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? The election in Guinea-Bissau supported by Timor-Leste under the umbrella of the g7+ Fragile-to-Fragile cooperation put an end to political deadlock. The successful election unlocked the international assistance that had been for a long time under embargo by international community to put pressure on Guinea-Bissau to restore constitutional order. The successful election in Guinea-Bissau was a step towards stability and peace in the country.
SDG INVOLVED
36 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action Chapter II Chapter
IMPACTS PARTNERS Timor-Leste: Ministry of State Administration, Technical This is an example of sharing homegrown solutions Support Office for the Electoral Process (GTAPE), and Timor- and resources. Guinea-Bissau was under an embargo Leste Cooperation Agency (ACTL) by the international community while at the Guinea-Bissau - Minister of Territorial Administration same time an election was expected that would The g7+ Secretariat, which served as the conduit and a base cost around USD 35 million (UNDP assessment), for cooperation; the Community of Portuguese Speaking a reassessment by Timor-Leste reduced it to USD Countries (CPLP) which was supposed to be bound to respect 6 million. the embargo.
Considering the principle of solidarity – one of the pillars of the g7+ – the Government of Timor-Leste provided financial resources and technical assistance LESSONS LEARNED to conduct elections. On SSC: Solidarity enables long-lasting cooperation Upon the successful conduct of the peaceful for electoral purposes. This is reflected in the continued election, the international community removed cooperation between the two countries. the embargo and thereafter pledged an assistance package for Guinea-Bissau.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation”1 (2017) - page 22
Contact details [email protected] | g7+ Headquarters www.g7plus.org
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/11/29/fragile-to-fragile-cooperation-voluntarism-cooperation-and-solidarity-2017/
37 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 2: Experiences oriented towards preventing the continuation of conflict
South-South dialogues and support to peace and reconciliation in the Central African Republic Dialogue sessions in the Central African Republic (CAR) supported by g7+ members with the aim of underpinning peace and reconciliation in the country. to protect rule of law, as well as the 2015 and 2016 presidential elections and the resettlement of 24,000 internally displaced persons
Challenge The Central African Republic has been in conflict since 2012 and is considered by some as an “aid orphan”, in The Central African Republic the sense of being forgotten or neglected by bilateral (CAR) and Timor-Leste and multilateral donors. The country is under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA). In July 2015, the Bangui Forum Cross-continental cooperation on National Reconciliation (where a peace agreement was signed between the warring factions) with broad Geographical regions audience discussed the major threats related to peace Central Africa and South-East Asia and security; governance; justice and reconciliation; and economic and social development.
South-South cooperation: Brief description The g7+ Secretariat and member States organized several high-level visits with the aim of supporting peace and reconciliation in the CAR.
In 2014, the g7+ organized a meeting in Dubai between key stakeholders of the CAR (government officials, religious and community leaders and representatives of civil society), the g7+ Chair and Secretariat, and focal points from several g7+ countries. The meeting aimed to gain a better understanding of the situation and paved the way for the first high-level visit by a g7+ delegation to the CAR, which was led by the g7+ Eminent Person, Xanana Gusmão, in February 2015. In May 2015, another g7+ delegation led by its Deputy General Secretary attended the Bangui Forum on National Reconciliation.
The dialogues allowed the g 7+ to have a deeper understanding of the conflict through CAR citizens' perspectives rather than the media. It helped in establishing an environment of trust for the g7+ engagement and among the various stakeholders, which resulted in the conclusion of peace agreement signed during the Bangui National Forum.
In 2015, Timor-Leste pledged $1 million in financial assistance to the CAR to support the general and presidential elections that took place in late 2015 and early 2016. During the 3rd high level mission of the g7+ mission to Bangui in September
SDG INVOLVED
38 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action Chapter II Chapter
2016, the g7+ delegation, led by H.E. Xanana Gusmão, also spent time at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp near Bangui. The Government of Timor-Leste which was part of the g7+ delegation pledged a further $1.5 million to support the resettlement of IDPs. A few months later, all 24,000 persons had been successfully resettled. This donation was an expression of solidarity barely ten years after Timor-Leste had experienced an IDP crisis of its own.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? The g7+ facilitated dialogue between the warring factions. It was done in a step by step manner. First, the g7+ brought together representatives of religious groups, civil society, the transitional government and private sector; later the delegation brought together the leaders of the warring factions and facilitated dialogue. The integral process also took into consideration complementary support to IDPs directly impacted by the violent conflict
IMPACTS PARTNERS
This cooperation helped in promoting the principles The g7+ Secretariat was the facilitator of the cooperation promoted by the g7+, which include country-led Central African Republic and Timor-Leste dialogue and reconciliation as well as the use of country systems.
The success of H.E. Xanana Gusmão in getting his message across to the various parties, by drawing on his own experience as an independence leader and promoter of reconciliation in his own country. This experience indicates the potential for g7+ “champions of peace” to make a positive contribution to reconciliation across other fragile and conflict- affected contexts.
39 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: The South-South model of engagement On P&D and SSC: The cooperation and experiences has important potential in the facilitation of dialogue of conflict-affected countries (such as Timor-Leste) and reconciliation in conflict-affected situations. in the “South” hemisphere are received with an open mind by the people and stakeholders of other conflict- On P&D: The peers involved in this engagement affected countries (such as the CAR) because these have relevant experience of dialogue and countries have rarely any vested interest in each reconciliation that can be mutually beneficial. other’s affairs.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation”1 (2017) – page 25
Contact details [email protected] | g7+ Headquarters www.g7plus.org
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/11/29/fragile-to-fragile-cooperation-voluntarism-cooperation-and-solidarity-2017/
40 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 2: Experiences oriented towards preventing the continuation of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to support comprehensive migration II Chapter governance Enhancing African governments’ migration management capacities through the International Organization for Migration (OIM) African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC)
Challenge The African region is affected by substantial mixed migration flows, either originating in or transiting through its constituent countries. The principal characteristics of mixed migration flows include their irregular nature Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South and the differentiated needs and profiles of the persons Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda involved - refugees, asylum-seekers, displaced persons and migrants pursuing family reunification, education or employment. Regional dynamics are compounded Regional cooperation by a general weakness of border and migration management regimes, characterized by porous borders Geographical regions and inadequately trained and poorly equipped staff. East Africa
South-South cooperation: Brief description Established in 2009 at the request of African Member States, the International Organization for Migration (OIM) African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) has a mandate to help build national capacities and shape innovative solutions in migration management, based on three pillars – capacity building in border and migration management; migration research and development, and migration advocacy and partnerships.
The ACBC’s regional capacity-building activities have a strong focus on sharing practical strategies for migration governance issues as well as combating criminal activities such as people smuggling and trafficking of persons, while emphasizing best practices in cross-border, regional and international law enforcement. ACBC promotes South-South and triangular cooperation between Member States, Regional Economic Communities in Africa, as well as the African Union and the East African Community, international organizations such as INTERPOL and Frontex, academia and the IOM itself. The Centre is partnered and hosted by the Tanzania Regional Immigration Training Academy (TRITA), tasked by the EAC heads of Immigration Services with coordinating and providing specific training courses for immigration officials from the six EAC countries.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Any mechanisms that are based on sharing knowledge and experiences, addressing challenging issues through cooperation and achieving common objectives are definitely related to peace. Migration is a sensitive and important issue for the stability of this region, because it tends to be securitized and, thus relates to a tense context. Cooperation in favour of a migration agenda, instead of creating barriers, builds bridges between countries that can share data and work together on their borders.
SDG INVOLVED
41 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
IMPACTS PARTNERS 52 African countries, mainly the EAC, as well as Azerbaijan, ACBC has trained around 5,614 migration Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Turkey. management officials from 52 different African states. Tanzania - Tanzania Regional Immigration Training Academy (TRITA) The expertise acquired over the years is now IOM in partnership with East African Community (EAC); African giving the Centre opportunities to broaden Union (AU); Interpol and Frontex training commitments outside the continent; as a result, training has also been delivered to officials in Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey. LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: Ensuring national and collective ownership of In June 2018, the IOM ACBC facilitated a the ACBC’s programmes is crucial to promoting the long- 4-day capacity-building training session for term sustainability of its capacity-building, research and law enforcement on counter-trafficking and development and partnership outcomes. smuggling in Cairo, Egypt, for officials from the Horn of Africa region: 30 law enforcement On SSC: All activities carried out by the ACBC arise from and professionals from Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, are aligned with governments’ stated objectives and needs; Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia they are oriented towards the implementation of relevant participated. On SSC: ACBC works closely with regional stakeholders to identify government champions that can take forward the lessons from the ACBC’s activities.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE SSTC Good Practices for SD, Vol. 21 (2018) – page 157
Contact details Neil Roberts | ACBC - IOM2 [email protected] and [email protected] | www.acbc.iom.int
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/11/28/good-practices-in-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-for-sustainable-develop- ment-vol-2-2018-in-seven-languages/ 2. Institutional webpage: https://acbc.iom.int
42 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 2: Experiences oriented towards preventing the continuation of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to devise accelerated and alternative learning II Chapter programmes for refugees and internally displaced people in the Arab Region
Knowledge sharing and technical cooperation on developing alternative pathways to education among Ministries of Education in Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.
Challenge Egypt, Syrian Arab In the Arab region, especially the Syrian Arabic Republic Republic and Yemen and Yemen, the number of refugees and internally displaced people is on the rise. As a result, education systems are faced with many challenges and are Cross-regional cooperation overburdened. Alternative education methods are gaining more attention due to the solutions they can Geographical regions provide. Western Asia and North Africa
South-South cooperation: Brief description UNESCO’s Regional Office in Beirut organized a three-day study visit to Egypt in 2017 for 20 high-level education decision makers from Ministries of Education in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, including education planners, curriculum developers, teacher trainers and adult educators, to respond to the challenges in the region. The aim of the visit was to raise awareness about flexible learning strategies, particularly primary level alternative learning/schooling programmes that are officially accredited by the Government, and are flexible and effective in offering school- age children a second chance at education so that they can learn, graduate and have their right to education fulfilled.
Participants were able to visit different alternative pathways to primary and middle schooling in South Cairo, Egypt, and witness how learning happens in such settings. Participants also had one-day consultation sessions with officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Education in Cairo to discuss the alternative education programmes.
UNESCO is identifying opportunities for other such visits to further strengthen knowledge sharing and technical cooperation on developing alternative pathways to education among Ministries of Education in Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. Promoting accelerated learning programmes is an important way of helping countries in crisis to provide high quality education to girls and boys who are often neglected by their education system. More importantly, alternative methods are an approach that can help schools in these communities and teachers in those schools to serve their students better by providing them an education that is both high quality and relevant to the community in which they live.
SDG INVOLVED
43 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Addressing the educational needs of displaced populations is a global responsibility. Access to quality education should be provided to all internally displaced and refugee children and youth from the onset of an emergency and long-term. The World Humanitarian Summit (May 2016) recognized the key role that governments play in managing humanitarian situations, including ensuring education for displaced populations. Incorporating their needs in education sector planning processes can therefore help protect children’s right to education. Promoting accelerated learning programmes is an important way of helping countries in crisis to provide high quality education to girls and boys often neglected by their education system.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Following the visit, participants agreed to pursue Education authorities in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen the following actions: UNESCO
develop national committees in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen to develop national frameworks for alternative education; LESSONS LEARNED share expertise and resources already developed in Egypt, including on teacher training; On P&D: To further support the Arab Region in meeting educational needs in times of crisis, UNESCO launched develop materials that support decision makers in the Strategic Framework for Education in Emergencies promoting such concepts; and in the Arab Region (2018-2021) in November 2017 to provide important tools for leveraging much needed develop teachers’ capacity-building programmes and support from development partners to help mitigate training workshops. the impact of the protracted crisis in the Arab Region.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action “UNESCO South-South and Triangular Cooperation1 (2018) – page 25
Contact details Clare Stark and Junzhu ZHENG | UNESCO-HQ (Bureau of Strategic Planning) | [email protected] and j.zheng@ unesco.org | https://en.unesco.org/education-crisis-in-arab-region
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/12/unesco-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-in-action-2018/
44 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South cooperation to tackle the West African Ebola crisis II Chapter Coordinated response to the emergency by Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Donation from the Government of Timor- Leste in the amount of $2 million and global advocacy efforts by the other g7+ member countries.
Challenge The West African Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in December 2013 and quickly spread to neighbouring countries. It was declared a public health emergency of international concern in mid-2014 and eventually infected almost 30,000 people, killing more than 11,000. Egypt, Syrian Arab While a total of ten countries were affected, the crisis was Republic and Yemen largely concentrated in three g7+ member States: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic dealt a major blow Cross-continental cooperation to the transition to resilience and post-conflict long- term developmental gains in these countries and had Geographical regions a particularly severe impact upon their health systems, Western Africa and South-eastern Asia which were struggling to meet public health needs even According to the UN Statistical Commission https://unstats. before the crisis. un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/
South-South cooperation: Brief description The three governments elaborated their Ebola response and recovery plans in the context of the Mano River Union, a subregional cooperation organization comprised of these three countries along with Cote d’Ivoire,. Under severe stress, they realized that the international character of the emergency called for a coordinated response. Broader international support, which was urgently needed, however, was not materializing in a sufficiently quick manner..
Under the umbrella of Fragile-to-Fragile cooperation of the g7+, the government of Timor-Leste pledged a donation in the amount of $2 million to help the three countries address the unfolding crisis, as an important complement to other international efforts. The donation was used to pay for medical supplies, medical equipment for clinics and hospitals, food for quarantined homes, protective equipment, salaries of doctors and nurses, and training. Crucially, the funds were entirely channelled through the national systems of the countries in question in order to help strengthen them at a time of acute need. This constituted a practical application of the very important New Deal principle of using country systems in the delivery of external aid. All the other g7+ member countries participated in the international advocacy efforts aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing support from the international community. The g7+ used various platforms where it advocated for support for the Ebola crisis affected countries.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? A crisis like Ebola creates mistrust between the citizens and the States in the affected countries in addition to the general catastrophe it creates. Such natural crises have often led to conflicts due to that fracture of trust. The governments in the
SDG INVOLVED
45 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Ebola affected countries needed resources to tackle the crisis and restore the trust of their citizens through efficient service delivery. The international support is only effective in this regard when it is provided through the state institutions and country systems. The support from Timor-Leste in the spirit of solidarity that defines one of the pillars of the g7+ and its Fragile-to-Fragile cooperation, channelled the assistance through the subject countries own systems.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone health authorities and According to the Minister of Finance and the Government of Timor-Leste Development Planning of Liberia, the money was G7+ Secretariat served as conduit in this cooperation channelled through the national budgetary systems. This was important in addressing the issues identified and confronted at national and regional level. It was a contribution to a substantive global effort to support West Africa at the time of the Ebola outbreak LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: The state institutions of the subject countries are best placed to lead the execution of cooperation. On SSC: Such types of financial assistance and their management through government budgets are examples of good and effective cooperation in line with the New Deal Principles.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation” 1(2017) - page 29
Contact details [email protected] | g7+ Headquarters www.g7plus.org
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2017/11/29/fragile-to-fragile-cooperation-voluntarism-cooperation-and-solidarity-2017/
46 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South cooperation to build national capacities in forensic science for human rights II Chapter
Building local capacity in applying forensic science to human rights investigation: transferring expertise to investigate and document human rights violations
Challenge An estimated 30,000 people disappeared during the Argentine military dictatorship (1976-1983). When Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, democracy was restored, the country realized that it lacked Guatemala, Kenya, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, a proper forensic science system to investigate cases Thailand and Viet Nam related to human rights violations and a system to conduct independent investigations. Furthermore, its relationships Cross-continental cooperation with the victims’ families were weak. A strategy was thus needed to determine the whereabouts of the “disappeared” Geographical regions to enable the multidisciplinary use of forensic science South America, Central America, East Africa, in legal investigations. Argentina’s strong expertise and Southern Africa and South-East Asia experience gained from its own past is now transferred to other Global South countries facing similar challenges.
South-South cooperation: Brief description For more than 25 years, within the framework of South-South cooperation, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) has trained public prosecutors, judges, lawyers, police officers, medical examiners, other forensic specialists and NGOs around the world investigating cases of human rights violations and disappearances because of violence, natural disasters, crimes against migrants and femicide. Since its creation, one of EAAF’s goals has been to transfer the Argentine experience to other countries that have lived through similar processes of violence, particularly outside of Latin America. The EAAF collaborates with the Argentine Fund for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (FO.AR) and the General Directorate of International Cooperation (DGCIN) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Argentine Republic. This collaboration occurs within the framework of the technical assistance that Argentina provides to various countries in the world. 17 years of collaboration between the EAAF and FO.AR reached nearly 250 people in 25 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia in five integrated programmes: investigative programme; training and advisory assistance; scientific development; strengthening the field; and documentation and dissemination.1
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Human Rights has been an strategic line of the Argentinian SSC. This comprises collaboration with governments and social organizations in their search for truth, justice and reparation for cases of human rights violations and promotes the development and implementation of non-discrimination policies and human rights protection.
SDG INVOLVED
1.Argentina CSS Publication of 2010 mentions three cases to be explored in which the EAAF is involved: Bolivia “Accompanying the search, truth, memory and justice”, Paraguay “Committed to the truth, memory and justice” and East Timor “The Cemetery of Santa Cruz. See 2010 Annual Journal on SSTC of Argentina at https://www.cbd.int/financial/southsouth/argentina-2010.pdf
47 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
IMPACTS (EXAMPLES FROM SELECTED SSC INITIATIVES)
In Viet Nam, assistance to identify the remains of Vietnamese soldiers who died during the conflict with the United States in the 1960s and 70s
In South Africa in 2012, an example of the impact of assistance and collaboration is the School of Forensic Sciences and Human Rights created by the EAAF with the support of FO.AR (training 15 African forensic specialists);
In Bolivia, since 2006, Argentine forensic experts have continued to support authorities in the LESSONS LEARNED reconstruction of the truth and historical memory, and in seeking justice for victims of forced On SSC: Another interesting aspect of this type of disappearances in recent decades; cooperation is that the relationship between the parties continues beyond the specific assistance, thereby An interdisciplinary team visited Paraguay to creating new projects in the future; share Argentina’s experience in the investigation of On SSC and P&D: This project has generated interest historical truth and the trial and punishment of those at regional and local levels, as it is often one of the few responsible for serious crimes. It also helped with options for those who want to improve the capacity of excavations in an area where clandestine burials have local forensic systems to improve services to victims occurred of human rights violations and the administration of justice. In Timor-Leste, Argentine and Australian forensic anthropologists cooperated in the identification of On SSC and P&D: Thanks to the strategic alliance the bodies of victims of the Santa Cruz cemetery between the FO.AR and EAAF, the state and civil society, massacre in Timor-Leste. the EAAF strengthened and expanded its expertise.
PARTNERS African School of Humanitarian Forensic Action; State Prosecutor General - Institute of Forensic Investigation - Plurinational State of Bolivia; National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences – Republic of Colombia; Forensic Service – Republic of Kenya; Institute of Legal Medicine – Republic of El Salvador; General Directorate of Truth and Justice – Republic of Paraguay; Central Institute of Forensic Science – Kingdom of Thailand; Military Institute of Forensic Medicine and Bureau of National; Devotees from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs - Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE SSTC Good Practices for SD, Vol. 21 (2018) – page 191
Contact details Luis Fondebrider (EAAF): [email protected] | Andrea De Fornasaria (FOAR): [email protected] María Fernanda Jakubow (FOAR): [email protected] | www.cooperacionarg.gob.ar | www.eaaf.org
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/11/28/good-practices-in-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-for-sustainable-develop- ment-vol-2-2018-in-seven-languages/
48 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action
SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation towards a coordinated multisectoral II Chapter response to gender-based violence The programme led by UNFPA and the Romania-based East European Institute for Reproductive Health in 14 countries and territories across Eastern Europe and Central Asia is pushing for legislative reform, enforcing laws, and promoting multisectoral coordination and partnerships to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV).
Challenge In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, an estimated one in four women have experienced physical or sexual violence.
In times of crisis, one form of GBV, sexual violence, can become so widespread and systematic that it is considered Romania and other a method of war and can escalate into a crime against Eastern European and humanity, a war crime or an act of genocide. Countries Central Asian countries in the region recognized multiple stereotypes and a lack of awareness of its devastating effects, an absence Cross-continental cooperation of clear referral systems, lack of legislation and political commitment, limited resources and a lack of a coordinated Geographical regions multi-sectoral response (MSR). Eastern Europa and Central Asia
South-South cooperation: Brief description UNFPA, in partnership with the East European Institute for Reproductive Health (EEIRH) in Romania, engaged 14 countries in the region in various initiatives aimed at addressing GBV through a multisectoral approach. These include rolling out the United Nations Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (ESP) and the regional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for frontline service providers (health, psychosocial and police).
In line with the South-South cooperation modality, UNFPA and EEIRH have been providing technical assistance to the multisectoral response to GBV, promoting policy dialogue, supporting capacity-building at national and local level and promoting knowledge sharing between countries and key sectors. They have also facilitated the establishment of national multisectoral working groups to adapt the above-mentioned packages, led by relevant institutions, as well as learning visits to Romania of multisectoral teams.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Prevention and response to GBV and violence against women and girls through MSR mechanisms ensures the centrality of protection of survivors in the development-emergency nexus. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) can undermine
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49 SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
long-term stability and security even after states have transitioned out of conflict due to the weakening of reporting and enforcement mechanisms. Establishing high-quality, accessible MSR systems, based on relevant guiding principles (for example, safety, confidentiality and ‘do no harm’) is key to tackling SGBV which is a prerequisite for sustainable peace. MSR enables women and girls to fully participate in political life which lays a strong foundation for sustainable peace and development.
IMPACTS (examples from select- ed SSC initiatives) The impacts have included:
the amendment or development of laws and policies; example, in Tajikistan and Georgia the national SOPs the introduction of protocols and guidelines on the are now aligned to global ESP for healthcare workers quality and coordination of services in line with the and have been adapted and approved by the Ministries global UN Essential Services Package (ESP). of Health.
the expansion of services to survivors; the With respect to the humanitarian-development nexus, enhancement of capacity of service providers -- sector specific SOPs and national regulations for health, social, police and justice -- to provide quality intersectoral coordination and response in emergency services and referrals. situations have been developed and approved in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, North in Azerbaijan, Belarus, BiH, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia and Serbia. Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine the global UN ESP and related UNFPA Standard Operating Procedures for Eastern Europe and Central Asia were adapted and contextualized for key sectors on how to respond to GBV, including specific services for survivors. For
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PARTNERS The multisectoral response to GBV envisages cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders at different levels: policy, institutional, community and individual, with high-level II Chapter government officials, civil society actors, policy makers and members of parliament.
LESSONS LEARNED
On P&D and SSC: Having reference documents as On SSC: SSC enabled countries to develop longer- common resources for countries in the region ensured term partnerships and networking opportunities the consistency of the approach on GBV prevention and was recognized as an effective modality of and response. development cooperation. On SSC: Through cross-country exchange incentives, On SSC: This model provides a space to share the countries that are traditionally not accustomed knowledge and involvement of multisectoral teams to collaboration can share their experiences and at country level in achieving common national results. expertise.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) ”UNFPA: Sexual and Reproductive Health” (2018)1 – page 43
Contact details UNFPA – HQ | Bobby Olarte ([email protected]), Yanming Lin ([email protected] ) and Ramiz Alakbarov Nigina Abaszade and Nurgul Kinderbaeva | UNFPA - EECA RO [email protected] and [email protected] | website: https://eeca.unfpa.org/en https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/11/30/sexual-and-reproductive-health-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation for civil service capacity enhancement in South Sudan The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) member countries, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda deployed abroad qualified and experienced civil servants to mentor South Sudanese Civil Servants
Challenge Following independence in 2011, there was a widespread understanding that the South Sudan’s stability and security were of prime importance. The South Sudanese people were living in some of the world’s worst human Ethiopia, Kenya, development conditions and they demanded a state Uganda and capable of delivering security and basic services. The South Sudan functioning of the South Sudanese State depended on the Regional cooperation emergence of a relatively viable state apparatus staffed by professional and capable civil servants – an extraordinarily Geographical regions scarce resource after decades of devastating conflict. Eastern Europa and Central Asia
South-South cooperation: Brief description Between 2011 and 2015, the Regional Initiative for Civil Service Capacity Enhancement in South Sudan, established by the Government of South Sudan in partnership with UNDP and the IGAD member countries Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, and funded by the Government of Norway, worked together to tackle the above challenge. The Initiative built on existing bilateral agreements and IGAD provided the project’s political framework and regional legitimacy. 1
Under Phase I of the Initiative, the project deployed regional experts, known as Civil Service Support Officers (CSSOs), who successfully coached and mentored South Sudanese civil servants, also known as "twins", in the former 10 states of South Sudan; currently Phase II is ongoing (2013 to 2019). These deployments served as a capacity boost to developing local capacity through twinning with South Sudanese civil servant counterparts in peer-to-peer coaching and mentoring partnerships. The deployed civil servants remained on their sending countries’ payroll during their two-year coaching and mentoring stay in South Sudan, making these individual contributions among the largest of any South-South assistance for post-conflict state building to date. UNDP provided technical support in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project, in addition to its day-today management. The Government of Norway funded the CSSOs’ consolidated technical allowances and the costs of project management.
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1. http://www.ss.undp.org/content/south_sudan/en/home/presscenter/articles/2016/12/09/the-igad-regional-capacity-enhancement-initiative- concludes-its-annual-review-workshops-in-juba.html
52 South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action Chapter II Chapter
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Peace agreements are implemented through a civil service that is professional and responsive to the needs of citizens. Peace dividends are demonstrated by the establishment and delivery of inclusive frontline service delivery to the population, which was devastated by conflicts, especially the vulnerable groups. To this end, the project increased the capacity of civil servants, including those working in the national infrastructure for peace, through coaching and mentoring and building the in-house knowledge and skills which are critical in providing much needed basic services at all levels. Delivering a peace dividend through the provision of basic services increases citizen confidence and trust in their government and helps to restore the social contract between the state and its citizens, a necessary condition for stabilization, recovery, and sustainable development.
IMPACTS
Improved institutional performance through Improved legal, policy, and institutional increased knowledge and skills: In the first frameworks of civil service institutions: The phase, the project provided technical support project helped harmonize and develop sectorial for 22 national and subnational civil service policies in support of the Ministry of Education, institutions and 1,013 South Sudanese civil Science and Technology; the Ministry of Housing servants (257 female), through the formulation of and Physical Planning; the Ministry of Labour, legal, regulatory and policy frameworks, including Public Service and Human Resource Development; regulation of conduct of business enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Cooperatives the National Legislative Assembly. In addition, and Rural Development; the Ministry of Livestock 121 CSSOs were deployed in 18 national and 30 and Animal Resources; and the Ministry of Interior. subnational institutions, and the CSSOs coached In the two phases, the project supported the 694 twins (176 female) in the second phase of the development of 68 institutional policies, 16 bills project. During the two phases, more than 1,700 and 49 strategic plans. South Sudan civil servants benefited from the twinning arrangement.
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PARTNERS Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) member countries Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda UNDP and financial support from Norway
LESSONS LEARNED
On P&D and SSC: The project is a model of SSC On P&D: It is important to balance the population’s that has been adopted to support the restoration of short-term needs while simultaneously investing in core governance functions in fragile states, involving medium-term priorities for recovery and resilience- neighbouring countries. This is a more suitable building – there are enormous challenges in approach to capacity development (cultural and prioritizing the civil service capacity development linguistic affinity, and knowledge of local and regional in the face of the desperate need for humanitarian conditions); assistance; On SSC: The creation of forums for direct and regular On SSC: The need for flexibility and context relevance, consultation with all levels of government and the which allow projects to seize opportunities to donor enhanced communication and engagement in contribute to capacity development in ways not project implementation, monitoring and evaluation; envisaged in the original design.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE SSTC Good Practices for SD, Vol. 12 (2016) – page 117
Contact details Lealem Berhanu Dinku | UNDP – South Sudan [email protected]
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2016/05/30/good-practices-in-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-for-sustainable-development-2016/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to strengthen reproductive health in II Chapter humanitarian settings
UNFPA facilitated the exchange of knowledge and experience among reproductive health professionals in the area of reproductive health service delivery, especially for services provided by midwives in an emergency and humanitarian context.
Challenge Eight-years of crisis left some 5.1 million people living in hard-to-reach and besieged areas with limited access to basic health services. More than 50 per cent of health facilities were destroyed completely or partially and Islamic Republic of the delivery of quality reproductive health services was Iran and Syrian Arab affected. The need for skilled human resources, especially Republic qualified nurses and midwives, was huge - the majority Cross-regional cooperation of them served in major cities. Moreover, like other health professionals, many midwives have either perished, been Geographical regions forcibly displaced, or have left the country. Western Asia and South Asia
South-South cooperation: Brief description To strengthen access to quality maternal health care, UNFPA, in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Syrian Arab Republic, organized a cross-country exchange of knowledge and experience study tour for reproductive health professionals to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The objective was to enhance participants’ understanding of best practices in reproductive health service delivery, especially by midwives in an emergency and humanitarian context, as well as in a post-crisis era.
The choice of the Islamic Republic of Iran was based on the country’s achievements in implementing reproductive health programmes, particularly its well-developed midwifery programme. The Syrian health professionals, especially the midwives, have benefited from the Iranian experiences, which include prenatal, postnatal care and safe deliveries in hospitals and facilities, neonatal care and resuscitation and emergency obstetric care service, among others. Public private partnerships (PPP) in supporting capacity of midwives to deliver quality healthcare was also one of the areas where participants were provided with in-depth information and experience.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Using the capacity-building of health professionals from all over the Syrian Governorates as an entry point for improving social cohesion; having a better understanding of the different categories of people that come from different geographic
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locations and social backgrounds, leaving aside other types of sensitive differences; improved understanding to reduce the suffering of the population and contribute to minimizing the tension; improving the accessibility of the most vulnerable people to quality healthcare addresses one source of tensions; reducing maternal mortality and improving maternal health is fundamental to the stability and resilience of communities; provision of accessible health services could help with the rebuilding of communities and families.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Islamic Republic of Iran – Ministry of Health and Medical Midwifery modules in Syria are updated, benefiting Education; Tehran University of Medical Sciences and affiliated from the experience in Iran; hospitals Syrian Arab Republic - Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry The Health Agreement between Iran and Syria of Heath was updated to include capacity development in UNFPA ASRO health including midwifery programmes;
A specialized study tour was organized to Iran on in-vitro fertilization (but was postponed due to the political context in Iran); LESSONS LEARNED
UNFPA Syria is advocating for the implementation On SSC: The success of the exchange is based on of the PPP approach adopted in Iran to improve its participatory approach, including the active the efficiency of health facilities (NGOS are renting engagement of high-ranking officials; the primary health centres (PHC) in several areas) On SSC: For learning to be incorporated into practice, the participation of Syrian senior staff in the cross-country exchange was vital; On SSC: The importance of the timely and quality implementation of the study tour includes the quality of the materials, lectures and other related logistical and operational aspects.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Acton (SSiA) “ UNFPA: Sexual and Reproductive Health” 1 (2018) – page 41 Contact details Omar Ballan and Hala al-Khair - UNFPA - Syria [email protected] and [email protected] | Leila Joudane and Leylanaz Shajii - UNFPA - Iran - [email protected] and [email protected] | UNFPA – HQ - Ramiz Alakbarov
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/11/30/sexual-and-reproductive-health-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to promote a culture of peace and II Chapter reconstruction in Mosul, Iraq: Revive the spirit of Mosul Revive the Spirit of Mosul is a flagship initiative launched in 2018 by UNESCO to contribute to rebuilding the cultural heritage and revitalizing the educational and cultural institutions of Iraq, in cooperation with the Government and people of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and other international partners.
Challenge Iraq, which has stood up in the face of terrorism and triumphed, is fully aware of the power of culture to bring back hope and peace, and restore the archaeological sites, museums, buildings and intangible heritage that terrorism United Arab has destroyed. The archaeological sites of Nimrud, the Emirates and Iraq Regional cooperation Museum of Mosul, the Nabi Younes Shrine – part of the living symbol of the multifaceted identity of Iraq and in the Geographical regions crossroads of the Middle East and which bears witness to the wealth of the civilizations that crossed the region over Western Asia centuries - have been targeted for deliberate destruction.
South-South cooperation: Brief description The ‘Revive the Spirit of Mosul’ initiative1, launched in February 2018,aims to support Iraq’s social and economic renaissance and contribute to sustainable development and reconciliation between communities through the safeguarding and enhancement of the cultural heritage. The initiative foresees a joint effort to rebuild the heritage and revitalize the educational and cultural institutions of Mosul, in close cooperation with the Government and people of Iraq.
In this context, the United Arab Emirates and UNESCO signed a partnership agreement of US$ 50.4 million, over a five- year period, with generous support from the UAE to rebuild the emblematic al-Nuri Mosque and its leaning 45-meter al-Hadbaa Minaret, which was built more than 840 years ago. The first year will focus on documenting and clearing the site, in addition to drawing up plans for its reconstruction, while the following four years will focus on the restoration and historically faithful reconstruction of the Leaning Minaret of the al-Nuri Mosque and adjacent buildings. The plan will also include the city’s historic gardens and other open spaces and infrastructures, in addition to building a memorial and a museum at the mosque site. The initiative with UAE foresees a joint effort to rebuild the heritage and revitalize the educational and cultural institutions of Mosul, in close cooperation with the Government and people of Iraq, especially involving young people, including technical cooperation and capacity development.
SDG INVOLVED
1. A video about this initiative is available at: https://en.unesco.org/news/uae-unesco-and-iraq-conclude-historic-50m-partnership-reconstruct-mo- sul-s-iconic-al-nouri and more info on the initiative are http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1847/
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How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? It is expected that during its implementation and upon its completion, the initiative will contribute to peace by strengthening the resilience of local individuals and groups in their diversity and promoting their mutual recognition. Additionally, the initiative will foster local employment and long-term economic benefits through to the preservation of key heritage resources. This initiative illustrates how South-South and triangular cooperation can support peace building and reconstruction efforts.
IMPACTS
Even though the initiative is at its initial phase, there This flagship initiative is also exploring other possible are high expectations that during implementation partnerships within its framework. For example, very and upon its completion the initiative will contribute recently, on 21 February 2019, the European Union (EU) to peace by strengthening the resilience of local has committed 20 million Euros, in partnership with individuals and groups in their diversity and UNESCO and other partners, to promote social cohesion promoting their mutual recognition. Additionally, the and reconciliation in Iraq through the restoration and initiative will foster local employment and long-term reconstruction of historic urban landscapes in the economic benefits through to the preservation of key old cities of Mosul and Basra within the framework of heritage resources. the Revive the Spirit of Mosul flagship initiative. This is a good example of how a South-South cooperation UNESCO is exploring, at this moment, the extension project successfully leverages more financial resources of the project to other heritage sites affected by the to generate greater impact. conflict, notably a Christian church.
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PARTNERS LESSONS LEARNED United Arab Emirates - Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development It is important for the project to engage with civil Chapter II Chapter Iraq - Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities; Governorate society and local communities, in cooperation with of Nineveh; the Sunni Endowment; the University of Mosul the Iraqi national and local authorities, and the local universities. UNESCO and other UN agencies: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and United Nations Mine This project is also working in close collaboration Action Service (UNMAS) , European Union with two specialized UN agencies, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), which demonstrates the joint commitment and efforts of UN agencies towards peace and development through South-South and triangular cooperation.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action “UNESCO South-South and Triangular Cooperation 1 (2018) – page 16
Contact details Clare Stark and Junzhu ZHENG | UNESCO-HQ (Bureau of Strategic Planning) | [email protected] and [email protected] | https://en.unesco.org/projects/the-spirit-of-mosul https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/12/unesco-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-in-action-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to support the rebuilding the social fabric in Afghanistan
Croatia’s cooperation with Afghanistan is also multidimensional: it encompasses support to tackle multiple issues including education, health, development of small enterprises, women’s and girls’ empowerment and political participation
Challenge After four decades of conflict in Afghanistan, a substantial peace process was still not guaranteed. The Government’s goal to reduce reliance on aid and secure its own tax base require concentrated efforts to stimulate the private sector, Croatia and Afghanistan reduce corruption and red tape, and build infrastructure, after which Afghanistan’s mineral wealth could be exploited. In this process of systemic change in the Cross-continental cooperation country, women’s economic empowerment and political participation, as well as the rebuilding of infrastructure and Geographical regions social services, is vital. Southern Europe and Southern Asia
South-South cooperation: Brief description In the period 2007–2013, Croatia has implemented more than 42 development cooperation projects in Afghanistan, one of Croatia’s largest development partners. The following are examples:
Women entrepreneurship: A number of micro-projects were designed to strengthen women's entrepreneurship and cooperatives enabling women to secure an alternative source of income. For example, the project on carpet weaving (a traditional Afghan craft) directly or indirectly employs at least 1.5 million people, of whom the majority are women.
Health: The largest infrastructure project is the construction of the Zar Shakh primary healthcare centre in the village of Layoba, which was carried out in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It is used by 23,000 of people from surrounding villages.
Education and local development: Equipping of a primary school in the village of Homaro Faroq in cooperation with the Afghan Ministry of Education. The school was equipped with desks and chairs made by local craftspeople, which resulted in increased local employment
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How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Croatia is a small contributor in the overall process of post- conflict recovery in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Croatia’s approach, characterized by strong engagement with local II Chapter communities, is vital for the amplification of the peace impact of Croatia’s support. This micro-social approach increases the chances of social acceptance – for example by religious leaders - and the overall sustainability of the initiatives. Proximity and connections established with local partners allows changes of mindset in the community. Some initiatives also were successful in involving soldiers in their activities, building bridges between foreign soldiers and Afghan communities in their every-day life. This is very important in conflict contexts.
IMPACTS PARTNERS The construction and opening of the school, as well Ministries of Education and Ministries of Health of both countries as other projects, always took into consideration the International Organization for Migration (IOM) challenge of acceptance of members of the Croatian military operating in the area. Positive links with broader peace operations besides the direct contributions of each project mentioned above.
LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: Multi-annual implementation can be done On P&D: The vital role of women in peacebuilding with relatively modest financial contributions and is and in the rebuilding of the social structure, as well as the key to sustainable and meaningful results youth and children, as multiplier effects. On SSC: Close collaboration with provincial authorities On P&D: It is crucial to focus on minorities, including and local actors promotes acceptance of international religious ones, when dealing with post-conflict support societies. On SSC and P&D: It is possible to cooperate with military staff on security issues but also as a ‘helping hand’ in development actions.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Croatia: A Unique Bridge between North and South Development Cooperation”1 (2018) – p.44
Contact details M. Dalibor Matic | Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs | [email protected] | www.mvep.hr http://www.mvep.hr/en/
https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/28/croatia-a-unique-bridge-between-north-and-south-development-cooperation-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation to support veterans of war, sustainable return of refugees and IDPs and mine-action in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia’s multidimensional support to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH): veterans’ economic and psychosocial rehabilitation and re-socialization; dignified and sustainable return of refugees and IDPs to their homes; and mine action.
Challenge Complex challenges arose from the 1992-95 conflict. The conflict was characterized by violent ethnic cleansing, Croatia and Bosnia shaping the politics, society and economic development of Bosnia-Herzegovina today. During the conflict there and Herzegovina (BiH) were a large number of displaced persons and refugees Regional cooperation as well as killings. The multidimensional support provided cooperation to overcome multifaced challenges, in the Geographical regions light of the strong aspiration for European integration. Southern Europe
South-South cooperation: Brief description BiH is a neighbouring country of Croatia. Both have faced similar challenges. In the spirit of cross-border cooperation (CBC), the main objective of which is to support progress towards shared prosperity and good neighbourliness, Croatia provided multidimensional support as follows:
The dignified and sustainable return of refugees and IDPs: since 2001, Croatia has been active in helping create the conditions on the ground for a dignified and sustainable return. This includes helping rebuild homes and energy/water infrastructure, support in the rebuilding of hospitals, facilities for people with disabilities, schools, retirement homes, cultural centres and more; Mine action: Croatia and BiH are closely cooperating on demining as well as other aspects of mine action, such as mine-risk education and victim assistance. Croatia’s authorities and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s are considering clearing cross-border areas where mines are suspected. Veterans’ economic and psychosocial rehabilitation and re-socialization: The Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs is organizing a call for proposals for small entrepreneurship (producing honey, starting small-scale agricultural production, producing tourist souvenirs, etc);
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How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Croatia is supporting BiH in thematic areas with direct positive peace impact but also under the assumption that this will support BiH process towards acceptance II Chapter of EU membership The European project is considered also a peace endeavour to overcome past conflicts. All other thematic initiatives are directly connected to peace and security: the right to dignified return, education, rehabilitation and economic opportunities for war veterans are all part of rebuilding the social fabric.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Croatia - Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs; State Office for There are a number of long-term impacts such as Reconstruction; State Office for Croats Living Abroad the reduction in suicides because of the veteran’s re- socialization, the dignified return of displaced peoples Bosnia and Herzegovina – several federal and local authorities because of successful demining, etc. Other partners were UNDP, GIZ, EU, various foundations and trust funds Successful exchange of best practices, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the event of floods in mined areas.
LESSONS LEARNED
On SSC: There are important achievements whenever On P&D and SSC: BiH is very large and has several communities of both countries are involved in the local authorities, which can be complicated without cooperation, especially in the case of Croatia and BiH facilitating local community engagement from both which share a common past and border sides. When they work together, it is easier for them to exchange ideas based on the common challenges On SSC: It is very difficult to implement a sustainable that they both face. project without involving community leaders;
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Croatia: A Unique Bridge between North and South Development Cooperation”1 (2018) – p.47/8
Contact details M. Dalibor Matic | Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs | [email protected] | www.mvep.hr http://www.mvep.hr/en/
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/28/croatia-a-unique-bridge-between-north-and-south-development-cooperation-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation on psychosocial support, education, post- mortem identification and demining in Colombia Croatian support to Colombia in the areas of psychosocial support, education, post-mortal identification and demining in Colombia. Sharing lessons and techniques between two post-war countries
Challenge Violent armed conflict has afflicted Colombia for the past 50 years, destabilizing the country and causing the death of Croatia and Colombia over 200,000 of people and the forced internal displacement of more than 5 million Colombians. The conflict has largely Cross-continental cooperation destroyed the country's social fabric, seriously affected its economic development and undermined the resilience of Geographical regions large parts of its population. South America and Southern Europe
South-South cooperation: Brief description Croatia’s cooperation with Colombia began in 2009 in two areas of work: high-level education and mine action. In the past two years since the cessation of the armed conflict, two more relevant areas were added: psychosocial work with people traumatized by war and post-mortem identification techniques and experiences, which were developed in Croatia after the Homeland War.
High level education: Croatia has provided scholarships to Colombian nationals to study in Croatia.
Mine action: Project aimed at building capacity of the Colombian Ministry of Defence through a three-member delegation consisting of the Croatian Centre for Demining (CROMAC) and the Centre for Testing, Development and Education (HCR-CTRO), the aim of which was to train Colombian partners in procedures for proposing and adopting legislation on the regulation of demining activity. In 2013, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs financed the second phase of the implementation of the project in Colombia for the transfer of knowledge and knowhow for the specific implementation of measures regulating demining. In 2014, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs financed the third phase, which consisted of the training of supervisors to carry out quality mine action.
Psychosocial support: Within the EU framework, the Croatian project Capacity development for psychosocial support – Strengthening Colombian care professionals in providing basic psychosocial services was implemented by the Society for Psychological Assistance (SPA), from Zagreb, in cooperation with Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group from the Netherlands.
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How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Croatian cooperation contributes to addressing some of the challenges in post-conflict contexts: demining improves security, while the psychosocial support project II Chapter is very well accepted by Colombian communities and contributes to the process of demobilization of soldiers.
IMPACTS PARTNERS Croatia - Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs; State Office for In mine action cooperation, standardized measures Reconstruction; State Office for Croats Living Abroad were proposed, and methods, procedures, working tools, equipment, mapping of the surveyed areas and Bosnia and Herzegovina – several federal and local authorities a database for the evaluation and accreditations of Other partners were UNDP, GIZ, EU, various foundations and equipment were used in demining with ownership trust funds by the Colombian Government;
Colombian partners were trained in carrying out LESSONS LEARNED further actions to create the required legislative framework on humanitarian demining; On SSC: The cascading training-of-trainers (ToT) model will serve to disseminate the new skills and Croatia donated 15 complete sets of demining reach new care providers who work with populations clothing for the training participants; this clothing in need. complies with the highest international standards. On SSC: The support of and collaboration with governmental services and training institutions will ensure sustainability of the project outcomes
On P&D: Conflict recovery such as mine action can easily evolve into economic cooperation, not only for the trade in machinery and equipment from one country to another, but also other issues related to support to improving the social fabric after demining.
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE South-South in Action (SSiA) “Croatia: A Unique Bridge between North and South Development Cooperation” 1 (2018) – p.47/8
Contact details M. Dalibor Matic | Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs | [email protected] | www.mvep.hr http://www.mvep.hr/en/
1. https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2018/06/28/croatia-a-unique-bridge-between-north-and-south-development-cooperation-2018/
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SECTION 3: Experiences oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict
South-South and triangular cooperation for family protection, support, security and justice for victims of domestic and gender-based violence in Iraq
Facilitating relief and access to justice for domestic and gender-based violence victims in Iraq through knowledge transfer from Jordan
Challenge More than one in every three women in Iraq has either experienced first-hand or had a family member who has Jordan and Iraq suffered devastating violence, be it sexual assault, domestic violence, kidnapping or assault. Often, these incidents go Regional cooperation unreported and the survivors are left with no support. Lack of quality information had for a long time made it difficult Geographical regions to track instances of violence against women. Western Asia
South-South cooperation: Brief description Between 2012 and 2015, the Family protection, support, security and justice for victims of domestic and gender-based violence programme developed by UNDP sought to tackle the issue of gender based violence head on. The programme supported the Government of Iraq in undertaking policy, legislative, social and economic reforms to enhance the response of national institutions, improve access to justice, and empower victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence.
UNDP facilitated South-South knowledge transfers, workshops and study tours to enable the Iraqi authorities to learn from their Jordanian counterparts how to establish family protection systems, facilitate law enforcement and ensure access to justice for victims. Through country-to-country cooperation and exchanges, the programme provided comprehensive technical and advisory support combined with extensive capacity development interventions for Iraqi stakeholders.
Learning from Jordanian experiences, the programme helped to build the capacity of formal and informal institutions to establish family protection systems and facilitate law enforcement and access to justice for the victims of violence, based on a holistic approach to domestic and gender-based violence in the Iraqi context.
How does this SSC initiative contribute to peace? Through ensuring the protection of women, which materialized through a full-fledged establishment of prevention and protection of domestic violence.
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IMPACTS The project was able to establish family protection
units within police stations across the country. In 2012, II Chapter over 7,000 cases of domestic violence were reported while the number of female police recruits increased;
The Kurdistan Regional Government adopted the Domestic Violence Bill and a similar bill is under review by the Government of Iraq
A national pool of local trainers has also been created to enhance the capacity of Family Protection Unit representatives from the Iraqi governorates. The training of Family Protection Unit managers from all PARTNERS 18 Iraqi governorates and the creation of a national Jordan - Ministry of Social Development and the Jordanian Family pool of local trainers have helped to ensure the Protection Department sustainability of the capacity development activities; Iraq - Family Protection Units at the federal level and the The establishment of the whole sustainable reporting Directorate for Tracing Violence against Women at regional level. Other national partners include the Ministry of Women’s system for domestic violence, the first ever of its kind Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of in Iraq. the Interior, the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Health, the High Council of Women in Kurdistan and civil society organizations. UNDP in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA as well as the Governments of Denmark and Norway
LESSONS LEARNED On SSC: The cultural, social and linguistic similarities, reporting mechanism within the Ministry of the Interior, including a common tribal social system, between its allocation of resources from the national budget, Iraq and Jordan, made the learning of best practices and its formulation of an Iraqi cross-ministerial strategy in a regional context and geographical proximity a (establishing links among designated committees) are realistic, cost-effective way to fight domestic and proof of the strong ownership and sustainability of the gender-based violence; it also helped to reduce the programme in Iraq. costs of transportation for participants. On SSC: it was proved that cooperation between On SSC: Iraq’s adoption of the Jordanian organizational institutions (not individuals) is more sustainable. structure, its institutionalization of the domestic
SOURCE OF THE INITIATIVE SSTC Good Practices for SD, Vol. 1 (2016)1 – page 53
Contact details Nahid Hussein – Chief Technical Advisor, Parliamentary & Constitutional Support Projects, UNDP Somalia CO – [email protected] | Mohammad Ta’ani – Programme Specialist, Funding Facility for Stabilization, UNDP Iraq, CO https://www.unsouthsouth.org/2016/05/30/good-practices-in-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-for-sustainable-development-2016/
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Chapter III From promise to action SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Through this publication, “South-South in Action and committed work by many organizations and on Peace and Development”, UNOSSC and its teams working with determination around the partners seek to support all stakeholders in world. As highlighted in the case studies, it is also collaborating in a coherent and integrated way clear that these initiatives are not “owned” by one to prevent conflict and strengthen national, region, one country, one intergovernmental or regional and global efforts towards durable peace UN agency. Many Global South countries have and inclusive development. As we go forward recently experienced or are experiencing multiple in supporting this strategic objective, UNOSSC and varied forms of challenges linked to violence, would like to highlight two main areas of work to insecurity and conflict. They all have knowledge convert promise into action in the field of South- to offer and needs to be satisfied; the question is South cooperation for peace and development: whether the institutional channels and platforms are there to support systematic cross-fertilization of ideas and lessons to sustain peace. Visibility: Action and voices from the Global South UNOSSC offers its advisory services without distinction to provide ongoing guidance and UNOSSC understands that an important first step support for the documentation and dissemination to enhance Southern collaboration for peace is to to a wider audience of key Global South make the impacts of existing experiences visible, experiences in sustaining peace. UNOSSC will such as the 21 cases presented in this publication. create more opportunities to produce action- It is important to acknowledge that South-South oriented research products, as well as offering the cooperation for peace and development is no on-line platform "South-South Galaxy" to facilitate longer a promise, but a concrete result of visionary knowledge sharing and building partnerships
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and dialogue in innovative ways. Finally, UNOSSC causes of violent conflict and promote long-term also aims to provide seed capital to support the peace. Thus, they work in an integral manner on organization of face-to-face exchanges in which issues ranging from employment and gender to the lessons of practice, concrete tools and ideas violence, climate change, citizens’ participation can be systematically and safely discussed and and voice, mediation, electoral support and shared, always guided by South-South principles much more. In all, the case studies demonstrate of mutuality, respect, Southern leadership and that a holistic, integral and multidimensional horizontal dialogue. approach to peace – sometimes perceived as mere “buzzwords” detached from action – are much more than that. They are real and vital Lessons learned: Increasing the impact guidance. through action across regions UNOSSC also seeks to become a knowledge Finally, the case studies provide illuminating hub in which lessons learned from South-South lessons about how and why South-South collaboration to sustain peace across regions can cooperation is, in fact, an outstanding way of be systematized and shared. Only by embracing promoting inclusive peace and development. The brief insights shared by our partners directly the importance of adapting experience drawn involved in implementing projects are telling. from practice, valuing the outstanding efforts of For example, many mentioned how and why others and connecting cutting-edge, innovative cultural, historical and regional proximity is a ideas beyond borders, will we create the vital pillar of peacemaking and sustaining peace. conditions for a humanity fit to realize the vision They also told us that, crucially, all SDGs and their of a world of peace, dignity and freedom for all in targets are integrated in their endeavours. This which no one is left behind. UNOSSC stands ready is because the purpose is to transform the root to support our partners far and wide.
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72 Annex SOUTH-SOUTH IN ACTION ON PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Methodology and sample profile
This annex explains the methodology used to produce this publication with its sample of 21 cases of “South-South cooperation on peace and development”.
It also provides quantitative data relating to the sample of 21 case studies presented in Chapter 2. The research teams created a number of categories in order to generate information on the salient general characteristics of the cases studied. Thus, it seeks to provide a brief overview of the sample profile which could be useful for future follow-up research work in this emerging field.
I. Methodology and research techniques
Firstly, the research team devised an overall research methodology for the purposes of this thematic South-South publication. The methodological process consisted of the following key activities: 1) Harvesting the cases from all publications/ reports published by the UNOSSC between 2016-2018 (see list of publications reviewed at the end of this annex below) 2) Selecting criteria that would show the relevance of the case studies to both peace and development and South-South cooperation (see below criteria used); 3) Engagement with partners to: i. Supplement the data collection and approve the draft case studies. All the drafts were prepared using existing information contained in the UNOSSC publications and with additional inputs from the partners. These additional inputs were provided in remote interviews and/or exchange of emails. ii. Produce the final draft sent for final approval to all the partners.
Research techniques The main research techniques aligned with the steps described above were as follows ||Desk-review of all the 17 publications to select case studies. Desk-research on partners’ websites and other on-line sources, including UN reports and other relevant publications. ||Interviews with the partners and email exchange to collect qualitative data ||Meta-analysis: Clustering to quantify information ||Data aggregation in a database to consider and identify categories of interest and, if applicable, include additional cases.
II. Selection of the sample of 21 case studies
The sample consists of 21 case studies selected from 17 UNOSSC publications. Relevant case studies were selected from the following 17 publications of the United Nations Office on South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC):
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· South-South in Action (SSiA) Series1
||Palestinian International Cooperation Agency: Solidarity through Cooperation and Annex Development (2018) ||UNFPA: Sexual and Reproductive Health (2018) ||Scaling-up Private Sector Enterprises in OIC Member Countries – Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (2018) ||Human Welfare and Peace through Development of Science and Technology - Mustafa Foundation (2018) ||Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (2018) ||Global SSD Expo 2016 – United Arab Emirates (2018) ||60 Years of Israeli Development Cooperation – MASHAV (2018) ||A unique bridge between north and south development cooperation – Croatia (2018) ||UNESCO – South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Action (2018) ||From Cuba to the world (2018) ||Fragile-too-Fragile Cooperation – Voluntarism, Cooperation and Solidarity (2017) ||The Union for Mediterranean – an action-driven organization for regional cooperation (2017) ||Inspiring Sustainable Development with Bamboo – INBAR (2017) ||The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States – The Turkic Council (2017) ||Citizen – Friendly Public Service Innovation in Bangladesh (2017)
· Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development series2: ||Vol. 1 (2016) ||Vol. 2 (2018)
Criteria applied to select cases relevant to “South-South cooperation on peace and development”
As briefly described in Chapter 1, in order to select the case studies constituting this publication sample, the research team applied a set of criteria relevant to the emerging field of South-South cooperation on peace and development, in particular, the interrelated nature of “peace and development”.
1 UNOSSC website to see all the published “South-South in action” editions: https://www.unsouthsouth.org/ library/publications/south-south-in-action-series/ 2 The two “Good Practices volumes” can be accessed and UNOSSC website: https://www.unsouthsouth.org/ library/publications/good-practices-in-sstc-for-sustainable-development/
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The criteria for selection of SSC P&D case studies for this publication is as follows:
i. Explicit intention to transform identified root causes of conflict and/ or drivers of violence, insecurity, instability and crime in a given context(s);
ii. Clear purpose to promote peace during one or more simultaneous phases of the “peace continuum”: ||Preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflict – addressing the root causes generating violent conflict, insecurity and instability ||Preventing the continuation of conflict: mediation and conflict/crisis/tensions management ||Preventing the recurrence of conflict: conflict transformation and long-term gains to achieve durable peace;
iii. Partners self-assessment on the South-South and triangular nature of the documented initiative: this means partners’ recognition of the effort as an SSC endeavour lead by Southern actors
After reviewing all the publications and applying these criteria, including in discussion with our partners, the research team finally selected 21 case studies from all the UNOSSC publications reviewed.
The research team considered it useful for the future analytical process to distinguish where the cases could “sit” considering the different moments of the “peace continuum”. Our analysis suggests that: ||in 7 of the case studies, the aim is to prevent the outbreak and escalation of conflict. ||in 4 of the case studies, the aims is to prevent the continuation of conflict; ||the remaining 10 cases studies are oriented towards preventing the recurrence of conflict.
The detailed list of case studies divided into the three stages of the peace continuum is as follows:
Experiences oriented towards preventing the outbreak and escalation of conflict 1. South-South peer-learning on access to justice 2. South-South knowledge generation on natural resources management 3. South-South and triangular cooperation to enhance natural resources management (water) for conflict prevention in the Lake Chad Region 4. South-South cooperation and diplomacy: Junior Diplomats Training Programme (JDTP)
5. South-South cooperation to promote citizens’ coexistence through arts and human rights education
6. South-South and triangular cooperation to support freedom of expression, public access to informa- tion and safety of journalists in Latin America and Africa 7. South-South and triangular cooperation to promote a culture of peace and non-violence in Africa
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Experiences oriented towards preventing continuation of conflict
8. South-South support to electoral processes in Guinea-Bissau Annex 9. South-South dialogues and support to peace and reconciliation in Central African Republic (CAR) 10. South-South and triangular cooperation to support comprehensive migration governance – 11. South-South and triangular cooperation to devise accelerated and alternative learning programmes for refugees and internally displaced people in the Arab Region
Experiences oriented towards preventing recurrence of conflict 12. South-South cooperation to tackle the Ebola Crisis in West Africa 13. South-South cooperation to build national capacities in forensic sciences for human rights 14. South-South-South and triangular cooperation towards a coordinated multisectoral response to gen- der-based violence 15. South-South and triangular cooperation to strengthen reproductive health in humanitarian settings in Syria 16. South-South and triangular cooperation for civil service capacity enhancement in South Sudan 17. South-South and triangular cooperation to support the rebuilding of the social fabric in Afghanistan 18. South-South and triangular cooperation to support veterans of war, sustainable return of refugees and IDPs and mine action in Bosnia and Herzegovina 19. South-South and triangular cooperation on psychosocial support, education, post-mortem identifica- tion and demining in Colombia 20. South-South and triangular cooperation for family protection, support, security and justice for victims of domestic and gender-based violence programme in Iraq 21. South-South and triangular cooperation to promote a culture of peace and reconstruction in Mosul/ Iraq: Revive the spirit of Mosul
III. The sample case studies and the 2030 Agenda
All the partners were asked to list all the SDGs and targets relevant to each one of the peace and development initiatives. The aim is to demonstrate the multidimensional and interrelated nature of conflict prevention and sustaining peace. The frequency of cases per SDG is as follows.
||SDG 1: No poverty - 2 cases ||SDG 3: Good health and well-being - 4 cases ||SDG 4: Quality education - 5 cases ||SDG 5: Gender equality - 7 cases
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||SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation - 1 case ||SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth - 5 cases ||SDG 10: Reduced inequality - 2 cases ||SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities - 3 cases ||SDG 13: Climate action - 1 case ||SDG 15: Life and land - 3 cases ||SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions - 18 cases ||SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals - 10 cases
As we can see, almost all partners indicated that they were working towards the achievement of SDG 16 and SDG 17. Notably, they all indicated that they are also working towards the achievement of one or more SDGs to deliver positive peace: only 4 cases identified only one SDG as a target –3 of them working towards the achievement of SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions. All the other cases identified at least 2 SDGs, 6 cases have triple SDGs and another 6 cases have 4 or more SDGs indicated as targets.
IV. Type of geographical cooperation The countries were classified according to the United Nations Statistical Commission for geographical regions3. We did this with the objective of first scoping the regional reach of the South-South exchanges. After identifying the countries involved, we associated them with their geographical region in order to classify them in three types of geographical exchange: cross-continental, cross-regional and regional.
The cross-continental cooperation involves at least two different continents. Here, we consider as continents: Africa, Asia, Americas (notably, Latin America and the Caribbean - LAC), Europe and Oceania. ||There are 11 cases that show a cross-continental type of geographical cooperation. The other two types of cooperation are related to the regions we have considered in this research. In LAC, we have South America, Central America and the Caribbean. In Asia, we have South-East Asia, Southern Asia, Central Asia and Western Asia. In Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and North Africa. In Europe, we only consider the Southern and Eastern Europe region, due to the Global South scope adopted here. Oceania also participated in some cases. Cooperation between different regions within the same continent is termed cross-regional cooperation and exchanges between countries within the same geographical region is termed regional cooperation.
3 The list of geographical regions presents the composition of geographical regions used by the Statistics Di- vision in its publications and databases. Each country or area is shown in one region only. These geographical regions are based on continental regions; these are further subdivided into subregions and intermediary regions drawn so as to obtain greater homogeneity in sizes of population, demographic circumstances and accuracy of demographic statistics Please, refer to: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/
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||There are 3 cases that show a cross-regional type of geographical cooperation. ||There are 7 cases that show regional cooperation. Annex
V. South-South or South-South and triangular cooperation
In this section we explain the modality of cooperation agreements identified by the research team from an analysis of this sample which reflects the common terminology4 used to describe the South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives. The categories distinguished are: a) “country-to-country modality” (or bilateral cooperation involving two or more countries), b) triangular cooperation. Triangular cooperation involves, beyond the developing countries, traditional donor countries and multilateral organizations that facilitate the cooperation process in different ways. The first category is the country-to-country modality. Some case studies relate to the exchange between countries. They explicitly show that there are countries requesting cooperation and others that are offering knowledge and experiences recognized as ‘good practices’. They are also usually called a bilateral type of agreement. It is noteworthy that the cooperation agreements sometimes involve more than one country seeking or offering cooperation. ||There are 5 cases of country-to-country” cooperation
There are other triangular cooperation cases in which we found a UN agency facilitating the South- South exchange. This support, which can involve the provision of funding, training, management and technological systems, is important to build bridges between requesting countries and good practices identified abroad. In the sample, 5 cases were identified involving UNESCO, 2 cases for UNPA, 2 for UNDP and 1 for IOM. ||There are 10 SSTC cases with the support of a UN agency
The third group is the SSTC with facilitation of an intergovernmental organization. These 10 have mandates very much in line with the South-South cooperation principles and objectives, to respond to their common challenges and objectives. The g7+ organization and the Turkic Council cases of relevance and which can be highlighted in the context of SSC on peace and development. ||There are 6 cases facilitated by other intergovernmental organizations
The research team developed an initial database considering the categories of analysis above. In this publication, we conducted a very preliminary analytical exercise which might be continued as UNOSSC and its partners further explore avenues to systematize and document good practices and experiences on South-South Cooperation on peace and development.
4 For more detailed information, please, refer to: https://www.unsouthsouth.org/about/about-sstc/
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